The Willow
by jasminefiregreen
Summary: Willow Swan is happy to be back in Forks. She missed the rain, the nature, and her father. Her sister, Bella, didn't feel the same, but this was a new beginning for Willow. One without her mother breathing down her neck while constantly reminding her of the past. A whole new life and nothing could wreck it, except for a pair of golden eyes. OCxJasper
1. Chapter 1

**January 17, 2005**

Forks, a town covered in constant rainfall and was smaller than most of the malls in Phoenix. There was no downside to moving here. I was getting away from my overbearing mother who wanted me to be just like Bella and it was an added plus that it was raining all the time. I glanced over at Bella who was in the seat next to me. She probably wouldn't agree with me. She loved all the sun and dryness of Phoenix and she loved our mother. This was going to a personal hell for her and a paradise for me. I grinned and looked out the window, enjoying the view of the clouds.

The car ride was filled with an awkward silence. Charlie really hadn't said anything besides a few quick 'hello's and now the silence was becoming highly noticeable. I just watched from the backseat as my dad tried to start a conversation with pathetic results.

"Your hair is longer." Charlie commented and I rolled my eyes. Really? Was that the best he could come up?

"I cut it since last time I saw you." Bella shot the conversation down with a well-aimed strike.

"Guess it grew out again." Charlie answered and I almost chuckled at the awkwardness. Bella just nodded and the car filled with silence once again.

"How's your mom?" He asked after a few minutes and I grimaced. Renee and I didn't have the best of relationships. She wanted me to be the perfect daughter and I just wanted to be me. We even managed to get into a giant fight about me leaving Phoenix. Renee had no problems with Bella going to Forks, but I was a whole other ballgame. I was apparently going to get into too much trouble without Renee breathing down my neck. She was going to force me to stay until Bella stepped in and told her she would be more comfortable with me coming with her.

"Good." Bella answered Charlie snapping out of my thoughts.

Thanks to Bella's one word answers we rode in silence as we drove closer and closer to Forks. We drove past a sign that said the population of Forks was 3,246 and I was thoroughly surprised. I was expecting something in the hundreds.

About 15 minutes later we were at Charlie's house. I had forgotten what it had looked like, probably because I spent most of my time out of the house exploring. It was an old two-story house that wasn't exactly small, but it was pretty cozy.

The inside of the house was...warm. I saw Bella wince at a picture of herself on the wall. Luckily, I didn't find many with me in them. I didn't stay still for photos when I was younger; I never stopped moving back then.

"I put Grandpa's old desk in your room," Charlie told Bella and then turned to me, "and I managed to find another one for yours." Thank the lord that I didn't have to share a room with Bella. I love the girl, but I really like privacy. "And I cleared some shelves in the bathroom for you two." Bella grimaced and I chuckled softly.

"That's right. One bathroom." She complained.

"I'll just put these up in your rooms." Charlie started to haul our bags up the stairs, but I stopped him and grabbed my own bag. I grinned at his questioning look.

"Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, you are getting pretty old." I joked and he smiled. We carried the bags upstairs while Bella followed.

Charlie left us alone to unpack and I retreated to my new room. The walls were painted dark red color and had hand-painted roses on the walls. There was a bed tucked into the far corner that had a light red comforter on it. There was a small oak desk in the corner next to the bed that had a computer sitting on top of it. The room was perfect and Charlie even remembered that I loved the color red. I grinned and flopped onto my bed. This was going to be the start of something good. I didn't have Renee watching my every move, I was surrounded by trees, and it was already raining. I got out of bed and started to unpack my clothes and put them into the closet near the door when there was a honk from outside. I looked out the window and saw a reddish-orange pickup truck that looked to be a few decades old. I decided to get a better look at it, so I started to make my way downstairs.

Charlie was saying hello to the new arrivals when Bella and I made it outside. There was a kid that looked to my age with long black hair. He and Charlie helped a man on the passenger side into a wheelchair. He looked to be in his late forties, maybe fifties, but his eyes held a twinkle of mischief that I could recognize from a mile away.

"Bella, Willow, you remember Billy-" I stopped listening to whatever Charlie was saying and gave the man a big hug.

"Hey Billy, how 'ya doing?" I asked with a smile and stepped back to get a good look at him. He hadn't really changed after all the years and I could still remember messing with his wheelchair when he wasn't looking.

"Glad, you're finally here. Charlie hasn't shut up about it since you two told him you were coming."

"Keep exaggerating, I'll wheel you down the hill." Charlie threatened and started to go back over to Bella.

"Right after I ram you in the ankles!" The two grown men then decided to rough house and I made it over to Bella.

"I'm Jacob. We made mud pies together when we were little kids." I heard the guy who came with Billy tell Bella and I smirked. I recognized his name and stepped closer to the two, making myself known.

"Hey, aren't you that kid who broke his arm falling down a hill?" I asked playfully and he glared at me.

"Pushed. I was pushed down that hill, by you!" I shrugged.

"Pushed. Fell. What's the difference?"

"Are they always like this?" Bella asked while staring at Charlie and Billy. Did she really not remember all our summers down here? I know it has been a couple years, but I could remember our summers in Forks as if it was yesterday.

"It's getting worse with old age." Jacob joked. Then the two GROWN men stopped fighting and Charlie went up and patted the hood of the old truck.

"So, what do you think of your homecoming gift?" Charlie asked Bella and she froze.

"No way. The truck is for me?"

"Just bought it off Billy, here." Bella was still frozen in shock and I think the guys were getting worried she didn't like it.

"I rebuilt the engine and-" Jacob started explaining nervously, but Bella interrupted him.

"It's perfect!" Bella smiled and I turned to Charlie who was looking proud.

"So, got anything for me?" I asked him and he looked a little embarrassed.

"Well, I know that you like classic cars..." Now, he had me interested.

"And?"

"You would have to help build it and find parts..." Charlie drew out the suspense.

"Please, do go on." I gestured for him to hurry up.

"Jacob may have 67' Chevy Impala that he was thinking about fixing it up. I think with a little persuasion he could be convinced to sell it to you." I smiled so hard I was surprised my face didn't split in two.

"You're serious, right? This isn't some mean practical joke?" He nodded and I gave him a big hug. "Thank you!" I then skipped over to Jacob and started laying on the charm. By the time him and Billy were leaving he had already agreed to sell it to me for dirt cheap after he finished fixing it up. I would have to buy the parts and give him a hand in fixing it, but it was still a great deal.


	2. Chapter 2

**January 18, 2005**

I had ride to school with Bella the next day since it would be a long time before the Impala would be ready to drive. It ran pretty well, but was as noisy as a tractor. When we got to school we headed towards the office to get our schedules. We didn't have any classes together, so we agreed to meet up at lunch.

I managed to make it to my first class in a few minutes and considered myself lucky that no one had felt the need to introduce themselves. In fact, I managed to stay unnoticed by most of my classmates. There only seemed to be two people who had even noticed a extra person in the room; the teacher and the guy who sat next to me. He kept glancing my way every now and then with a curious expression on his face. After the third time I had gotten a little annoyed, so I waited for him to do it again. When he looked over at me I looked him right in the eyes and held his gaze.

"Alright, this is the fourth time you've looked over here. What do you want?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you new here?" He asked and I rolled my eyes.

"What do you think?" I asked sarcastically and waited for a beat. I hoped he would get the hint that I didn't want to talk, but apparently he was thick. "This is my first day." I answered him in a defeated tone. He smiled and I noticed that he quite the hottie. He had hair the color of bronze, and yes I know that sounds corny, and dark eyes that were almost black. He even had a face that most models would kill for. The typical pretty boy.

"How do you like Forks?" He asked and I groaned. Normally, I would be trying to pay attention to the teacher or sleeping, but this kid seemed intent on having a conversation.

"Alright, I'll answer five of your questions _if_ you leave me alone after." I held out my hand for him to shake on it, but he ignored my hand and just nodded.

"Deal. What's your name?"

"Willow, yours?"

"Edward. Why did you move?"

"To get away from my overbearing mother." Two questions down, three more to go.

"Siblings?"

"A sister."

"Music?"

"I prefer books, music is just noise to me." He looked at me with shock and I shrugged. He paused and seemed to think over his last question.

"Am I really annoying you?" He asked with humor in his voice.

"Yes. I could be napping right now." I answered honestly. He just smiled at me and then turned his attention back to the teacher and left me alone per our agreement. I immediately relaxed and managed to pay attention to the teacher for about 5 minutes before I started to drift into sleep.

I woke up with a jolt about 30 minutes later to the bell ringing. I gathered all my books and went off to got to another class. Where nothing eventful happened and I managed to stay under the radar of my classmates...until lunch. I was planning on just seeing how Bella was doing and then recede into a corner to avoid my lovely peers. However, my plan was thwarted when Bella waved me over to her table where there were three people sitting. One was a blond kid who already seemed to be all over Bella and a brunette who had a stuck-up vibe practically oozing from her. There was also a guy with glasses and another brunette girl who seemed alright. I sighed and made my way over with my tray.

"Hey Bells." I said trying to sound happy and sat down next to her. "Who are your friends?"

"Hey Will, this is Mike," She pointed to the blonde, "Jessica," the stuck-up one, "Eric," the guy with glasses, "and Angela." the other brunette. "Guys, this is my sister, Willow." She introduced me and I faked a smile. I might as well try to get alone with Bella's friends and it's not as if I hated people. I just didn't like most people.

"So, how was your da-" I was about to ask Bella, but her attention was elsewhere. Bella's attention seemed to be focused on four people who walked through the cafeteria's doors. There was a short girl with spiky hair and a blond haired girl who looked like she belonged on the pages of a fashion magazine. There was two guys with them. One was a giant bear-like guy who had the blond glued to his side. The other was tall and lanky with curly blond hair. His eyes were a honey color and they seemed a little pained. All of them had pale skin and walked with grace. They practically danced over to their table.

"Who are they?" Bella asked in an awed voice.

"The Cullens." Angela answered and Jessica leaned towards Bella and started gossiping.

"Dr. Cullen and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They all moved down here from Alaska two years ago." She told Bella in a quiet voice.

"They kinda keep to themselves." Angela commented and looked over at the table they were sitting at. It was just the four sitting at the table and it seemed like they were in their own little world, except for the little pixie. She kept glancing over at us, probably because she noticed Bella and Jessica staring.

"Because they're all together." Jessica said as if it was scandalous. "Like, together together. The blond girl, Rosalie, and the big dark-haired guy, Emmett...they're a thing. I'm not even sure that's legal."

"Well, it's certainly not any of your business." I said loud enough for Jessica to hear and she blushed red. She sent me a glare before continuing gossiping. I glanced back at the table and noticed that none of them were talking anymore. They couldn't hear us from way over here, could they?

"Jess, they're not actually related." Angela spoke up.

"But they live together. And the little dark haired girl, Alice, she's really weird...I think she's with Jasper, the blonde who looks like he's in pain, but no one really knows. I mean, Dr. Cullen's like this foster dad slash match maker."

"Maybe he'll adopt me." Angela joked and I rolled my eyes. Then I saw Bella's head whip towards the cafeteria doors again. Her eyes were glued to some guy with bronze hair...wait.. bronze hair. It was the pretty boy who sat next to me in my first class.

"Who's he?" Bella asked and I swear I could see hearts in her eyes.

"That's Edward Cullen." Jessica answered and my eyebrows rose in surprise. Apparently pretty boy was a Cullen. He looked over at our table as if heard his name and he stares at Bella with curiosity. He continued to stare at her as he walked over to the table where the other Cullens sat.

"He's totally gorgeous, obviously. But apparently, no one here is good enough for him. Like I care." She said bitterly and I chuckled.

"What? Did he turn you down?" I asked mockingly and she glared at me.

"Anyway," She said, pointedly ignoring me, "don't waste your time."

"I wasn't planning on it." Bella lied and I chuckled. She looked at me with a questioning look. "What?"

"You are such a bad liar. You totally have a thing for pretty boy." I teased Bella and Jessica choked on whatever she was drinking.

"What did you just call him?" Jessica asked in a shocked tone.

"Pretty boy...because he's pretty and a boy." I told her while rolling my eyes.

"It's a thing she does. She gives nicknames to people so she can remember them." Bella explained and Jessica nodded in understanding.

"Do you have a nickname for everyone?"

"Pretty much." I answered

"What's mine?" Jessica asked and I smirked.

"Stuck-up Bitch." I told her and I think smoke came out of her ears.

"Can't you just try to get along with people?" Bella asked me while we were driving back home after school.

"I don't try to get along with people like her." I told Bella.

"You could have at least given her a chance." Bella said with a long sigh and I decided to change the subject.

"So, how was your first day of school?" I asked while using my Renee voice and Bella laughed softly.

"It was odd..." She frowned slightly and I gestured for her to continue. "Well, I hit Mike in the head with a volleyball."

"The blond guy?" I asked and she nodded.

"Then there was lunch, where you insulted Jessica." She gave me a dirty look. "Then there was Biology." She said with a huge sigh.

"What happened in Biology?" I asked and I saw a glint of annoyance in her eyes.

"Well, I had to sit next to Edward Cullen..."

"I sat by him too and he wasn't too annoying. Besides, I thought you had the hots for him?"

"I did, but the whole class he ignored me and acted like I was the plague. Then I saw him earlier in the office trying to switch out of the class. Honestly, What the hell is his problem?!"

She looked at me expecting a response, but I just shrugged. I didn't think Edward was that bad, sure he wouldn't let me sleep and kept asking me questions, but he didn't seem like an asshole. "Want me to kick his ass?" I offered and Bella shook her head.

"No, I'm going to ask him what the hell is his problem tomorrow." She said with determination and I just nodded. I was still going to harass him, of course, but I would leave the glaring and confrontation to Bella.

 **Thanks for all the reviews and follows/favorites! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and you keep reading :)**


	3. Chapter 3

January 19, 2005

I was in a very bitchy mood today. Bella had woken me up 20 minutes before my alarm because she didn't want me to be late for the wretched thing called school. Then my plans to harass Edward were ruined do to the fact that pretty boy decided to not show up for class. And to top it all off I was being forced to listen to Jessica's nonstop gossip during lunch.

I picked at the pizza I had bought for lunch and grimaced. This was my favorite food and I couldn't even bring myself to enjoy it. I sighed and looked over at Bella. I could see that she was peeved about the whole Edward thing, hence the reason I had to sit and listen to Jessica to drone on and on. Bella thought it would be a 'good idea' for me to try and make friends. Which was Bella's way of saying 'I'm irritated and therefore I will take it out on you.'.

Jessica started talking about some actor that she was 'like totally into' and I looked longingly at the empty table across the cafeteria. I glanced quickly at Bella to see if she was paying attention before I tried to make a break for it. However, my hopes of escape was crushed when the Cullens began to fill the table. The once empty table that held all my hopes and dreams. I let out a long sigh and decided to observe the people who took my table.

The pretty boy still appeared to be absent and the place where he sat yesterday stayed empty. The girl who looked like she was straight out of Vogue seemed to be glued at the hip with the bear called Emmett. The girl, Rosalie, seemed particularly pissed off today and the only person that was saved from her death glare appeared to be the bear. I turned my gaze to the two people who were sitting opposite of them. Alice, the pixie girl, looked perfectly content with her eyes closed and her body leaning against the blond next to her. My gaze came to the blonde next. He still seemed to have pain underlying his features, but there seemed to be less compared to yesterday. Also, the bags underneath his eyes seemed to have gone away as well. He seemed tense, however, like he was preparing for an attack. Suddenly, he looked over at me and our eyes met. I raised an eyebrow at him and continued to stare at him. He looked confused about something and his eyebrows furrowed. I was ready to make this a full on staring contest until someone touched my shoulder and made swing my head back to the table.

"What?" I snapped.

"You were staring." Jessica told me in a condescending tone and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"And?"

"Well, it's rude. Even someone like yourself should know that." I clenched my hands into fists underneath the table and tried to control my temper. I had had enough of this day and all I wanted to do was crawl into my bed and ignore the rest of the world. I slowly got up from the table while grabbing my tray and started to leave. However, I couldn't stop myself from responding to the stuck-up bitch.

"Gossiping is rude too. Even someone like yourself should know that." I informed Jessica, matching her condescending tone, before distancing myself from the table.

I dumped my tray and briefly glanced at the Cullen table. The blonde was still staring at me in confusion while the rest were focusing on each other. I looked away from him and stared at my shaking hands. Jessica had managed to really piss me off today, more than yesterday. Maybe it was because of my already fowl mood, but for some reason she really got under my skin. I frowned and then started to make my way out of the cafeteria.

Somehow, I ended up in the girl's bathroom and was standing in front of the mirror. I lifted a shaky hand and tried to run it through my hair with little success. I sighed in frustration and silently wished for a cigarette to steady my nerves. I had quit a year ago, but I still missed the instant stress relief that it gave me. I started to try to pull myself together, letting out a long sigh. I promised myself that I wouldn't get involved with the people here. Yet, here I was. Letting some fake bitch rile me up just because she looks down at me and reminds me of Renee. I ran a hand down my face and decided that I had spent far too much time in this bathroom. Who cares what that girl thinks about me! I'm only here until I graduate and I get the pleasure of not dealing with my mother everyday. I felt a smile creep on my face at that thought.

"Alright, I'm not gonna let that bitch get to me and wreck my vacation from Phoenix. I am going to enjoy myself here and I refuse to let anyone change that." I told myself while staring in the mirror and felt my mood lighten. I ran a quick hand through my hair to try to calm the mess it had become and then left the bathroom with my head held high as if Jessica's comments had just slid off of me. However, my goal of being nonchalant was ruined when my first step out of the bathroom led to me colliding with someone.

I stumbled backwards, trying to catch my balance. The key word being 'trying' considering I fell to the ground seconds after the collision. A chime like giggle had be looking up and pausing in my internal swearing. In front of me, with a smile on her face, was the pixie herself.

"Are you alright?" She asked in between her giggles and held out a hand to help me up. I let out a huff and took her hand, flinching a bit when I felt that it was colder than an icicle. I looked at her with a slight smile. Of course it would be a Cullen who I run into after having my embarrassing outburst of emotions. And she just had to live up to her nickname and be sweet when I had all the intentions of ripping her brother a new one.

"I'm fine, it was just a slight tumble." I went to walk away from her when she grabbed my arm with a slight frown on her face.

"I wasn't just talking about the fall…" Oh. She was talking about Jessica being a total bitch and me letting her get to me. She was asking if I was alright after I stormed out of the lunchroom. Normally, I wasn't one for having people be concerned about me or even worry for me, but when a little pixie shows concern for you you can't be upset. It is just too sincere and sweet to be even a little annoyed. A genuine smile spread across my face.

"I'm fine, Alice, but thanks for asking. My temper just got a hold of me." I told her and she nodded, though she didn't look like she believed me at all. She gave me a small smile and then continued her way into the bathroom.

As I walked to my next hour, I thought about the Cullens. They definitely weren't like anyone from Phoenix, which was a fairly good thing. Hell, the only thing I had against them was that their brother was an asshole to my sister. The rest of them seemed...nice? At least the pixie was decent (a.k.a fucking adorable!). Pretty Boy must just be the only one with an attitude problem and I shouldn't let that affect my feelings toward the other Cullens...not that I have any feelings towards them. The blondie's face popped into my head as if to contradict my thoughts. Sure he was attractive and mysterious, but I was not going to fall for that romantic trope. Hell yeah I was curious about him, but I was going to shovel that down inside of me. There was no fucking way I was going to get all heart-eyed for a guy that I didn't know shit about. No way…

 **A big thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited! It really gives me inspiration to write more chapters :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**January 24, 2005**

A whole week passed with little excitement. Every day Bella would stare at the Cullen's table and then pretend like she wasn't looking for pretty boy. Jessica would make some sort of insult towards me with an innocent smile and I would ignore her. Bella and I would go home and have an awkward dinner with Charlie since 2 out of 3 people in my family can't communicate properly. Then we would each go to bed, Bella actually falling asleep while I stayed up thinking about the...uniqueness of the Cullens.

It was driving me nuts that whenever I started to drift off into sleep their golden eyes would pop into my head, a specific pair the majority of the time. Note to self, don't have a staring contest with someone who has annoyingly interesting gold eyes. Luckily, the weekend had come pretty quickly. At least, that's what I thought at first, but without the distraction of school my mind kept wandering back to those gold eyes. Seriously, they have to be contacts. The only people who have gold eyes are the unrealistic sci-fi characters from TV shows and movies, not some random ass family from Forks.

This all leads me to my current dilemma. You see, Edward Cullen didn't show up to school after being an asshat to my sister. So, I didn't spend much time pondering how I was going to verbally kick his ass. However, the jackass must have sensed my unpreparedness because he is now sitting in his desk and I'm hiding outside the door.

Really, he couldn't have just waited a few days so I could get my script in order? I let out a sigh, since I can't exactly just sit outside the door forever. I could just skip class, but that would be cowardly and would only prolong the inevitable. I straightened my shirt and slapped my bitch face on (which looks remarkably like Jessica's normal face).

I walked in and aimed a glare at pretty boy's asshole face. I slowly walked to my desk, which is next to pretty boy's, all the while glaring at the jackass. I became damn proud of myself when we locked eyes and he flinched slightly. I sat down with my usual gracefulness and turned toward the front of the class without a word to pretty boy. The bell rang and the teacher walked in and started doing whatever teachers do. She was talking about something or nothing, I really wasn't paying attention because my attention was on making damn sure that pretty boy and everyone else in the room knew that I was ignoring his pathetic existence.

I managed to ignore him for the better half of the hour until the teacher stepped out of the classroom and the room erupted in conversation. Then pretty boy decided he was going to try to talk to me, a big mistake on his part.

"Hey." Was his first attempt.

"Hello?" Was his second.

"Hey, are you ignoring me?" Was the final straw.

"Oh, I don't know. Have I been glaring and pretending that you, an absolute prick, doesn't exist? Have I been resisting the urge to punch your pretty little face in for being a dick to my sister for no reason? Have I been imagining your demise ever since I learned of your asshole behavior to my little sister on her first day of school? What the hell do you think?!" I half-yelled at the fucking prick and the rest of the classroom grew silent.

"I'm sorry about my behavior towards your sister." Pretty boy apologized and I felt my blood boil.

"Well, you can shove your apology up your ass, if you can fit it in with the stick that's already lodged up there. Until you get the balls to apologize to Bella herself, you can go fuck yourself." I told him with a sweet smile and turned back to the front as the teacher walked back in.

Pretty boy didn't make another attempt to speak to me for the rest of the hour, a wise decision on his part. The rest of the day until lunch went pretty peacefully. No one managed to piss me off and I barely had to speak to anyone. However, like all good things, it came to an end once I got to lunch.

It all started when I got my lunch and went to sit down at the usually table. As much as I disliked Jessica (a.k.a. the stuck-up bitch), I didn't mind sitting with Angela and Bella. I regretted sitting there immediately when I realized that both Bella and Angela weren't in the lunchroom yet, but stuck-up bitch was. At first, to my joy, she ignored me, but Bella seemed to be taking her sweet time getting here and Jessica soon got bored with just ignoring me.

"Why do you even sit here? No one here likes you." Jessica said with a sneer. Now that was just childish, couldn't she come up with something not so cliched? Instead of voicing my thoughts, I just stared at her with an eyebrow raised and took a bite out of my pizza while looking unimpressed. I really hoped Bella would get her ass in here soon or else I may just do something to Jessica's snooty little face.

"Why don't you just go back to Phoenix? It's obvious that everyone, including Bella, is only tolerating you." I took another bite out of my pizza and glanced towards the doors to see if Bella was here yet.

"Someone as low-class and trashy as you shouldn't even be allowed in a high-class town like Forks." The low-class kinda stung, but the part about Forks made me snort. Yeah, Forks was real high-class. Any place where you can buy a shotgun and a pack of beer at the same time just screamed 'classy'.

I continued to ignore Jessica's remarks until about 5 minutes had passed and I was assuming my sister was dead or better be. Then the stuck-up bitch hit a nerve.

"Let me guess, no one could stand having you back home." I immediately bristled and a smirk of triumph went across Jessica's face. She let out a malicious little giggle. "That's it, isn't it? What, did mommy not love you? Did everyone hate you?" Jessica mocked in a childish tone and it took all my willpower to not strangle her. I slowly rose from my chair while Jessica continued her laughing.

I told myself that I wouldn't let her get to me. Therefore, I was going to pretend that everything she said meant nothing to me. I smiled wildly at Jessica before grabbing my tray from the table. "Wow, you are just the nicest person! It's been great chatting with you!" I told her with a shit-ton of fake cheeriness. Then I turned my back on the bitch's shocked face and went to dump my tray. On my way there I saw that Bella had finally arrived and she was looking at me with concern. I just gave her a huge fake smile, dumped my tray, and left the lunchroom to go find someplace quiet to let my anger out.

The 'someplace quiet' ended up being the lecture hall across from the lunchroom. There were only a few people in there, all huddled in corners with headphones on and music blasting. I felt a slight pang of envy at their ability to tune people out. I ended up being sprawled out on the carpeted floor near the back of the room. The silence of the room was a welcomed change to Jessica's bitchy comments.

I was lying there just letting the silence soothe my anger. At some point my eyes had closed and I spent 10 minutes just lying there, trying to relax. It was working fairly well until somebody interrupted.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder and I slowly lifted an eyelid to see an angel kneeling over me. It took me a moment to process what was actually happening and then my eyes widened. Kneeling over me, in all of his golden-haired goodness, was Jasper Cullen.

 **A huge thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! It really means a lot to me and it's the thing that keeps writing :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Update: Sorry about all the text errors, hopefully I've been able to fix them all. If I missed any, feel free to tell me. It's very much appreciated:)**

I was unable to do anything but stare at Jasper for a few moments. His hair was falling slightly in his face as he leaned over me and his brow was slightly furrowed. I am ashamed to say that I was shocked into silence by his ridiculous attractiveness. It took me a few minutes to shake myself out of shock.

"Um…..hello?" I said uncertainly and his lips quirked up slightly.

"Hello." His voice was extremely pleasing and I was positive that he would make a killing as a callgirl. Who wouldn't be able to find that voice attractive with all of its low tones and that fucking southern accent. Why does someone who is so pretty already get to have a voice of heaven to? Something was seriously unfair here.

I looked up at him with a raised brow, but didn't make a move to get up from my comfortable position on the floor. "What do you need?" I asked with as much annoyance that I could fake while looking at his pretty face. Maybe I should change his nickname from blondie to pretty face. Hmmm, then it could pretty face and his asshole brother pretty boy. It does have a certain ring to it.

"I was just wondering if you were alright, Ma'am." Jesus Christ, did he just call me ma'am? I'm not sure if I want to strangle him or just stare at him with star crossed eyes.

"Why wouldn't I be alright?" I asked him snippily.

"Well, I happened to overhear your conversation with that girl Jessica and you seemed very upset." Jasper explained and I felt my eyebrows lift. If he had come up to me about 10 minutes ago I would have probably poured my heart out to him, but not now. I was determined to forget that I let her get to me, again, so I was completely ignoring what happened in the lunchroom and was pretending that it never happened.

"Well, obviously you can see that I'm fine." I told him and then I started to get up from the floor. You could only talk to someone while laying on your back for so long until it started to become awkward. I stretched my back briefly, hearing some satisfying pops, then I turned to Jasper who had gotten up from his crouched position.

Confusion was written all over his face and it seemed like he was trying to figure out something. I sighed loudly and his attention was back on me. "Seriously, I'm fine." I said more seriously and when he still looked concerned I frowned. "Why do you care anyways? You don't know me?" I asked him angrily and he immediately seemed to get even more confused than before.

"I thought I could relate to your feelings…, but I guess not." I frowned a bit at that. What could he know about my feelings? This was the first time we have ever talked and he knows nothing about me.

His face suddenly hardened and his face went into a neutral expression. "Clearly I was wrong, I'll be sure not to bother you again." He said abruptly before moving away from me.

Then he walked away and out of the lecture hall. I would be lying if I said that I didn't stare at his ass for a few passing moments before I went back to my thoughts. What was up with that guy? First he comes galavanting in, asking if I was okay, then he leaves in a huff with more coldness than a statue. Sure I wasn't exactly friendly and was downright rude to him, but I had been confused at his motives and angry at myself for letting myself get upset in the first place.

I frowned to myself when I realized what a little bitch I had been to him when all he had been doing was show concern for me. I mean, it was weird as hell that he just came up to me asking if I was okay when I barely know him, but maybe that's his thing. Maybe that's how the Cullens make friends, by overstepping strangers' boundaries and questioning them about unnecessary things? That's how I first met pretty boy before he was an asshole to my sister and even the little pixie had come up to me asking if I was alright when I didn't know her at all. Shit, maybe that was their way of making friends?

I groaned and ran a hand down my face. Well, I guess I will never know considering I never want to speak to pretty face again and I was a extremely rude to Jasper. The blondie really shouldn't have been prying, but it seemed like he had good intentions. I let out a sigh, well it's no use stressing over it now. What's done is done.

The bell rang, showing that lunch was over. I straightened my shirt and then walked out of the lecture hall to join the crowd of people who were in the hallway.

The rest of the day went strangely. My classes were normal, as were the people in them, but in the hallway was when the real strangeness happened. Every time I was in between classes or at my locker, I seemed to run into a Cullen who was staring at me.

The pixie would stare and grin, the bear would look and chuckle, the model would glare and was probably plotting my demise, and Edward looked at me like he was trying to solve a riddle. The only Cullen who hadn't blatantly stared/glared at me was Jasper who I hadn't seen for the rest of the day. I suppose I should've felt relief at that, but for some reason it was bugging me. The incident in the lecture hall left me with quite a few questions about the blondie. Why did he care if I was upset? How did he know that I was really upset? Why did he try to help? Why would he even talk to me considering him and his family tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the school? These questions were plaguing my mind and the stares of the Cullens were bringing them to the forefront of my mind. So, when the final bell rang and we were dismissed to go home, I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe, if I was at home I could think about something other than blondie and his family. Hell, I might even do my homework as a distraction from him.

I ended up getting to the truck at the same time as Bella did. She had this confused, but slightly dopey expression on her face and I raised an eyebrow at her. She just shook her head and then pointed to the truck. I took the hint and jumped into the truck before starting my interrogation.

"Soooo, what happened?" I asked her with a smirk and she frowned.

"It's….complicated." She replied lamely and I sighed.

"Well, you can try to explain it to me now or you can be badgered about it later, your choice." Bella stared at me with exasperation and then she let out a long sigh before caving.

"It's Edward. One day he is treating me like the dirt on his expensive loafers and the next he is being friendly and asking all these questions about me. I just can't keep up with his mood swings! I was determined to ignore and secretly despise him after Monday, but then he comes in being all nice and attractive today and now I don't know what to think!" She finished her tirade with a loud huff. I was stunned into silence by my normally very quiet sister's outburst. After a few minutes of driving in silence I decided it would be too awkward to continue being silent.

"...I mean, how do you really feel?" I said jokingly and it managed to get a few chuckles from Bells. "Did he at least apologize for being a huge dick before?" When Bella nodded, I felt relieved that I wouldn't have to kill pretty boy. His homicide would probably make things even more awkward with the Cullens.

We spent the rest of the drive home in silence. I couldn't think of anything to say after Bella's outburst. She didn't do it very often, so I had no idea how to react to it. Bells tended to keep her feeling cards pretty close to her chest, something that I've always admired. So, when we finally got home I ended up leaving her downstairs and went upstairs. It's not like I was avoiding talking to her about her feelings, I just was trying to deal with my own at the moment. Bells may be my favorite person, but she was going to have to figure this one out herself. I already had one Cullen on my mind and that was already one too many.

 **A huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited! I never expected for this story to get so popular and I am so grateful to all of you who have read it. I will try to update more frequently and I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)**


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up extremely tired and cranky. My sleep had been plagued by a pair of stupid golden eyes for the whole night and I had barely gotten a wink of sleep. I decided to take out my foul mood on my lovely sister, who was the one who woke me this godforsaken morning. Luckily, I wasn't alone with my disdain for the day. Bells had taken one look outside then she made the same face I did when she woke me up earlier. It was snowing outside and the ground was covered in slush. If there was one thing Bella hated more than socializing, it would be cold and wet weather.

I laughed at the grimace that went across her face and she shot a glare at me. At least I wouldn't have to deal with cheery Bella this morning. I then spent a good 5 minutes trying to find a jacket that would be warm enough for the weather. I failed at that endeavour and ended up just throwing on a hoodie over my t-shirt.

Bella had taken just one step outside before she immediately slipped and fell on the icy driveway. I did try to hold in my laughter, but I failed and Bella shot me another one of her 'frightening' glares. We made it to the truck without another incident and I shivered when my ass touched the cold leather seat of the truck.

"Any chance that we magically have a seat warmer installed?" I asked Bells, but she just raised an eyebrow at me. What? A girl can certainly dream. I looked at the clock and saw that we were going to arrive to school early and I sighed. Being early just gave me more time to think about how much of an asshole I was to Jasper. I was eventually going to have to say something to him, but for now I was going to procrastinate my little heart out. I didn't want to talk to Jasper or any of the Cullens. If I talked to them, they would end up occupying more of my thoughts than they already did.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked. I turned to her with my brow furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She frowned and fidgeted in her seat.

"Well, you're not usually this…" Bells paused and seemed to be trying to find the right word,"distracted. Normally, you're constantly coming up with sarcastic quips and ranting about people you don't like." She did have a point. Usually, I'm talking non-stop or thinking of ways to mess with Bella, not obsessing over some strange family with freaky eye colors. This was ridiculous. It was time I stopped thinking about Jasper and his family and focused on the more important things, like teasing my younger sister and causing mischief.

"You're right Bells." I told her with a smirk. "I have been distracted, but worry no longer! I won't allow my sister to remain unembarrassed for any longer! I have a duty as an older sister to bug my little sister for as long as she lives." I finished my moving speech by reaching each over and messing up Bella's hair.

"Knock it off, I'm trying to drive." She said while trying to hide her amusement.

"Well, you won't be 'trying to drive' for much longer. I can already see the school and the turn you're about to miss into the school." I said cheekily and Bella rolled her eyes at me before pulling into the school.

When we got out of the car we noticed that Charlie had put some new snow chains on the tires. We had stopped by the side of the truck to look at them. Bella was still looking at them when I heard the sound of screeching tires. I immediately looked up to see a van that was heading right for us. I turned to look at Bella who hadn't noticed the danger.

" **BELLA, RUN!** " I yelled at her and she started to sprint out of the way without a second thought. I looked away from her to see that the van was going to hit us before Bella got out of the way. My mind was scattered and there was only one thing that I could of think to do.

I lunged towards Bella with my hands out in front of me, hoping to push her out of the way. My hands connected to her back and she was pushed forward. I hit the ground, hard, and turned my head to see the tire of the van.

 **Sorry for the short chapter, the late update, and the cliff hanger. I've been debating whether or not I should put Jasper's P.O.V. in the next chapter to give you an idea of his opinion of Willow before they actually have some sort of relationship. Please review and tell me your opinion on whether or not I should do it. Thank you all for following, reviewing, and favoriting this story :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Jasper's P.O.V**

Willow Swan was a strange human. The first time that she occupied my thoughts was after Edward had told me about her. He had been so curious about how she had been able to block most of his power had him chatting our ears off with different theories. At the time, I had to admit that it was strange that the girl had been able to partially block his mind reading power. Edward had described trying to read her thoughts as walking through a thick fog. He was able to catch a few of her thoughts if he focused hard enough, but the majority of her thoughts were foggy and indiscernible to him. It was certainly odd and it had me thinking about the girl for a period of time.

My curiosity turned to anger towards her after her sister had caused Edward to flee to the Denali coven. If they hadn't moved here, my family wouldn't be considering abandoning their life here and Edward wouldn't be considering leaving the family. I was bitter and angry, even though now I realize they weren't at fault. I had began to start paying attention to Willow and her sister, in order to find more reasons to dislike them. However, the more I learned about them the less certain I was about my bitterness. Bella was just a normal, boring human who didn't seem to have any cruel intentions towards anyone, someone who didn't deserve my anger. So, I turned to Willow, hoping that she would be a target for his frustration.

She was vastly different from her sister, so much so it seemed unreasonable that they were related. Bella's emotions were usually a calm mixed with nervousness and she wore said emotions on her sleeve. Willow, however, was the opposite. During the time when Edward was in Alaska, I was able to observe some very intense emotions coming from the girl. She could go from being amused and calm to being furious and distraught with just a few words. The emotions themselves were so intense that I got overwhelmed a few times by them. The most curious thing was that she never showed those emotions, at least not to their full extent. These instances of emotional intensity had me questioning my bitterness towards her and her family. Her emotions made me want to sympathize with her, but my thoughts of Edward kept me from doing so.

When Alice started to talk with Willow, I became suspicious. Alice didn't do anything that wasn't for a reason. She was constantly playing a complicated game of chess with the future, but this time it seemed like she wouldn't even tell me the stakes of the game. Usually, she would tell me about her visions, especially if they seemed to involve us. However, this time she kept silent. Every time I questioned her about it, she would smile cryptically and ignore me. It seemed as if my best friend was going to leave me in the dark without telling me anything.

It was a week before Edward came back and during that week my thoughts had been on Willow and her sister. I had managed to keep my bitterness towards them while he was gone, but as soon as Edward came back my bitterness faded away. It seemed silly to blame simply humans for driving my brother away when they had no clue that they were the reason he left. Now that he was back, I had no reason to think of the Swan family at all. But, that didn't stop my thoughts wandering to the girl with such strong emotions.

The same day that Edward had gone back to school marked the day that I had my first conversation with Willow. I hadn't intended to speak to her, but my intentions were thrown away after an incident in the lunchroom. Willow had been exchanging insults with another girl, Jessica, and she didn't seemed bothered by the insults thrown at her by the girl. She was calm and slightly amused at the girl's actions, but everything went downhill when Jessica implied that Willow was unwanted. It was like a switch was flipped with her emotions. Her emotions went from calm to instantly furious. I could feel her anger and grief coming off of her in tidal waves and it took me a few moments before I was able to focus again. During my period of obliviousness, it appeared that more insults were exchanged and I could feel Willow getting closer to snapping. However, all she showed on her face was anger and annoyance, not the grief and rejection that she was feeling just as strongly.

I watched as she suddenly got up from her seat and put on a fake smile. She faked cheeriness as she excused herself from the table and left the lunchroom. I watched as she left and I saw that she had tears in her eyes. The urge to follow her and try to calm her violent emotions was strong. The intensity of the urge even surprised myself and I was about to fulfill said urge when Edward stopped me with a raised eyebrow. I could feel Edward's confusion at my own thoughts and actions. I briefly wondered what the hell I was doing before turning back to our table with the intention of staying there. However, Alice's emotions made me pause and turn to her with confusion. She was feeling a hefty dose of annoyance and exasperation and I could feel that it was directed towards me. When I looked at her, she pointedly glanced towards the doors that Willow left through. She raised her eyebrows as if to ask what the hell I was still doing here and I gave into my urge to follow Willow. I left the table and started to walk out of the lunchroom to find Willow, feeling the confusing of my family members as well as the rest of the students.

I had found her eventually and talked to her. The conversation did nothing to relieve my earlier curiosity and even managed to increase it. When I had tried to talk to her and see if I could lessen some of her emotions, I was met with distrust and rudeness. My attempt at helping her with her emotions did help in way, a very unexpected way. My conversation with her had managed to rid Willow of any other feelings besides curiosity, anger, and annoyance; all of which were aimed at me. It was strange how I did manage to succeed in my original goal even though I had managed to be anger Willow.

I didn't understand her anger towards me, sure I could tell that she was angry, but I couldn't figure out what had made her angry. Was she viewing my help as pity or was she simply using me as a target for her frustration? Did she hate me or was she just volatile due to her intense emotions? These questions plagued me for the rest of the day and nothing I did could get her out of my mind. That was the downside of being a vampire, there was no real way of distracting yourself because there would always be parts of your mind thinking of the one thing you wished you wouldn't.

At home, I caught the glances that Edward was sending me. If I was confused about my own thoughts, then I couldn't imagine how confused Edward was after hearing them. There was a few times throughout the day when Edward had tried to talk to me, most likely about what he was hearing from my head. But, every time he had tried, Alice had came in and distracted either Edward or myself. I didn't notice what she was doing at first, but after the third time she did it it was hard not to notice. I had no idea why she was stopping Edward from talking to me, but I certainly didn't mind. I would rather not have to confront Edward's questions about the new subject of my thoughts.

Alice had managed to distract him for the whole night, but Edward caught me alone the next morning. I had been sitting on the couch in the living room when he came in and sat down next me.

"So, why are you so interested in her?" Edward asked and got straight to the main topic. I tried to my thoughts in order and tried to keep himself from thinking about her, but it didn't work very well.

"I don't know what you mean." I replied and Edward just stared at me until I sighed in defeat. I ran a hand through my hair and looked at him. "Honestly, I wish I knew why I'm so curious. Maybe it's because you can't hear her thoughts well or maybe it's because of her intense emotions. Either way, I keep finding myself thinking of her at the most random of times. She can go from being rude and inconsiderate to being polite and empathetic. I just don't understand her and I don't understand why I care." I told him with a sigh and Edward looked at me with sympathy and concern.

"Maybe it's best if we just ignore them. I don't want our curiosity to ruin the life our family has built here and if we get close to them it will only be a matter of time before they figure out what we are. They're just humans anyway, they don't really matter to us in the first place." He was right. She and her sister were just simple humans, maybe a bit different than most, but they were still plain humans. Humans that could ruin our family's life if they found out about us being vampires. It was a chance that neither Edward or I were willing to take.

I didn't reply to Edward, knowing that he could simply read my mind to know that I agreed with him. I decided to wait in the Volvo for the others to get ready instead of staying in the house. I needed some time to readjust my thoughts towards Willow. I needed to bury my curiosity and empathy towards her before I managed to expose all of us. She meant nothing to me, so I couldn't understand why her grief stricken face kept coming to the front of her thoughts.

When the others came into the car he noticed that Alice seemed to be angry at Edwards. She was practically steaming with anger next to me, but there was also a layer of disappointment in her emotions. He couldn't tell if it was disappointment with just Edward or someone else as well. Every now and then she would look at me with sadness and it was slowly driving me nuts. She would've usually told me what was wrong by time, especially since it seemed to involve me, but she remained silent and my frustration with her was reaching its peak.

I was debating leaving the car and confronting her, but my family reached the car at the same time. I decided to wait till after school to talk to her rather than talk to her in front of Edward. Edward started up the car and drove towards the school. The ride was mostly silent besides Emmett cracking a few jokes along the way to try and lift the tension. It didn't work and I let out a sigh of relief when we finally parked in the school parking lot. We all got out of the car and Emmett and Rosalie immediately left while Edward, Alice and I hung around the car.

I caught a glimpse of dark curly hair out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head to look at her and frowned when I felt irritation and grumpiness coming off of her in waves. She was frowning and she seemed like she was deep in thought. I wondered what she was thinking about as I watched her and her sister hang around their truck. I debated going over there and asking what was bothering her, but I reconsidered when I remembered what happened last time I tried to help her.

I turned away from her and started to make my way towards the school entrance when I heard the squeal of tires. My head whipped towards the noise and saw a van racing through the parking lot. I watched as the van went out of control and I froze when I saw it was heading towards an orange truck. My eyes watched in horror as I saw Willow push Bella out of the way of the van. She crashed to the ground and I could feel her acceptance for her fate. I started moving before I even knew what I was doing. The screams of the other students filled my ears, but I was too focused on Willow to care. I reached her within seconds and scooped her out of the way of the van's tire. I held out a hand to stop the other side of the van from hitting both of us and let out a sigh of relief when the van settled to a stop against my hand.

 **Thank you guys for being patient with my slow update. I had a difficult time trying to figure out how to write Jasper's P.O.V and I have no idea if I will do it again. Please give me your thoughts on what you think of it, if guys like it I will probably end up doing. I really appreciate everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited, you guys really help me get inspiration for writing :)**


	8. Chapter 8

I opened up my eyes slowly and winced at how bright everything was. I was surprised to see that the van that was about to crush me was now sitting a few feet away from me. My next surprise was realizing that I was no longer laying on the ground, but in someone else's arms. The person's arms were pale and weirdly hard. My eyes followed the arms up past the chest and to the person's face. I stared at the face for a few seconds while my mind tried to catch up with the real world. The face simply looked at me with a look of concern and I tried to smile to reassure the person. The face smiled back at me and I started to recognize that ridiculously pretty smile. It took a few seconds for my thoughts to click into place before I realized that it was Jasper whose arms were holding me.

"Hi." I said with a groggy voice and Jasper's eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you alright?" He asked me and I took a moment to think about it. I couldn't feel any cuts or broken bones and the only thing that seemed to hurt was my head.

"I think so..." I told him and I frowned. A van crashed into me at full speed and all that hurt was my head, something isn't right here. "What happened? Why am I not dead? That van was heading right towards me. My head was practically lined up with the tire." I questioned him and for a moment he looked panicked, but he quickly hid it behind a gentle smile.

"I was standing by your truck when I saw the van heading towards you. You pushed your sister out of the way and fell on the ground," He told me and I nodded. I could remember most of what he was saying, but I still didn't understand how I got out of the way of the van. He saw my questioning look and started to speak again. "Before the van could hit you, I moved you out of the way and luckily the van didn't hit us." Jasper finished telling me and I frowned. Something didn't seem right about his story. I could remember pushing Bella out of the way and falling to the ground, but I couldn't remember seeing Jasper anywhere near me. In fact, I remembered very clearly that he was over by his family on the other side of the parking lot before I heard the van coming towards me. However, I decided to not to question him anymore because my head was killing me and even if Jasper lied about where he was, he still saved my life.

"I owe you a thank you for saving my life." I told him and he frowned at me.

"You don't owe me anything, Ma'am. I was just at the right place at right time. Anybody would have done the same thing." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his cliche response and the fact that I was pretty sure he was lying about being at 'the right place'.

"I also owe you an apology for being so bitchy with you in the lecture hall. You were only trying to help me and I lashed out at you." I apologized to him, like I should've done before being almost killed by a van, but I figured it was better late than never.

"That isn't ness-" He was cut off by the ambulance and the paramedics who had just arrived with their sirens screeching. I winced at the pain that the noise caused my head and groaned when I noticed the crowd that had gathered around us. They were all asking us if we were alright over and over again and I was thankful when the paramedics ordered them to quiet down. The paramedics pushed through the crowd and once they reached us they asked about our injuries. Before I could say anything Jasper answered for me. "I'm fine, but I think Willow might have a concussion."

There seemed to be a large sigh of relief from the crowd that had gathered around us. It seemed like the whole school was there and that was probably the case. The paramedics ordered me to keep my head still as they moved me as gently as possible onto a stretcher. Jasper stayed with me until I had finally gotten situated onto the stretcher and then he disappeared. I caught sight of his hair by another ambulance, but I figured I would focus on my situation rather than where he went. The paramedics had put the stretcher near the ambulance while they got ready to leave for the hospital which left me alone with the stares of everyone around me. I couldn't move my head to glare at them because some paramedic had strapped a stupid neck brace to me. So, I just laid there with everyone staring at me while I imagined what kind of gossip Jessica would make up about this. Luckily, my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a police siren. I winced once again at the loud sound, but smiled afterwards as I watched as Charlie parked the paddy wagon. As soon as he got out he immediately ran to me with a worried expression on his face and I smiled at him.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be working?" I asked him jokingly as the paramedics began to begin the loading process of my stretcher. He ignored me while he talked to the paramedics about my condition. "Sure, just ignore me. That's totally fine." I said sarcastically as the paramedics helped move the stretcher into the ambulance. I just laid there while they were doing there thing, trying to ignore the pounding in my head, when I remembered Bella. Luckily, before I could start panicking, Bella appeared outside of the ambulance with a mix of concern and anger on her face.

"Hey Bells, you're not hurt are you?" I asked her with concern and I flinched slightly when she glared at me.

"I'm fine, but it's not me you should be worried about! You were almost killed by that van!" She yelled at me and I saw tears in her eyes.

"I'm alright, Bells. It's fine, it was just a little knock on my head." I tried to comfort her, but she just shook her head angrily at me.

"Willow, you could have died!" She had tears rolling down her face now and her yelling was starting to really aggravate my headache. I really needed to calm her down quickly.

"But, I didn't. I am perfectly alive and so are you. So, stop your crying and go get in the car with dad." I demanded with a smile and Bells glared at me.

"You aren't taking this seriously." Bella scolded and I stuck my tongue out at her. She gave a loud sigh and turned to see that Charlie was already starting up the police cruiser. I was guessing that he was just going to follow the ambulance to the hospital. "We are not done talking about this." She warned me before jogging to the cruiser.

The paramedics closed the door to the ambulance and started to drive out of the parking lot. Everything was going fine until we hit a pothole in the street and my stretcher was jerked around. The jerking of my stretcher had black dots appearing in my vision and I felt bile start to rise in my throat at the pain that was caused by the movement. There was a ringing in my ears and I was about to tell the paramedics to get a bucket when my vision suddenly went black.

I woke up to an annoyingly bright light shining in my eyes. My eyes couldn't seem to focus past the light and I could practically hear my head pounding. I had a short moment of fear that I had died, but it quickly disappeared when I started to hear muffled voices. I blinked my eyes a few times trying to focus on the light. It didn't work very well and I was extremely pleased when the light was turned off. Then a finger replaced the light and the muffled voice said something that I couldn't make out. I stared at the fuzzy finger and watched as it slowly came into focus along with the voice speaking to me.

"...hear me?" Was the only thing I caught from the fuzzy figure in front of me.

"Can you hear me?" The figure, which I could now see was a man, repeated.

"I think so." I told him groggily and blinked several times until he was in focus. I received a hefty dose of shock when I was finally able to make out his face and was met with an angel. Then I saw the angel's lab coat and tossed my theory of being dead out of the window. "Where am I?" I asked him while squinting my eyes at him.

"You are in the hospital." He told me and I nodded while trying to get my thoughts in order.

"I'm guessing that you're my doctor?"

"Yes, I'm Doctor Cullen. I believe that you go to school with some of my children." He told me while smiling and his beauty made sense. His eyes were even gold like the rest of the Cullens, which was strange considering that they were adopted. Speaking of the Cullens, I wondered where Jasper was considering he was hit by the van as well.

"Actually, your son Jasper is the reason that I'm not dead right now." I told him and he looked up at me with a hint of shock in his eyes, but he hid it well.

"Really?" He asked me calmly.

"Yeah, he was standing by me in the parking lot and he pulled me out of the way of the van before it could run me over." I explained and he furrowed brow in confusion.

"So, how exactly did you hit your head?" Dr. Cullen asked me and I took a moment to think about it. I couldn't remember exactly when I had hit my head, but something definitely happened to it judging by the pain that was shooting through my skull.

"It must've happened sometime between me falling to the ground and Jasper moving me out of the way…I can't remember exactly." He nodded and then grabbed a clipboard that was on the table next to me.

"Well, now that you're awake let's get some of these questions out of the way…"

It was a half-an-hour before I done answering Dr. Cullen's questions and having a basic medical check-up. Dr. Cullen, whose name I learned was Carlisle, found that I had no other injuries besides a mild concussion. A concussion that felt like someone was banging on my head with a hammer. Charlie and Bella had ended up waiting in another room for me after Carlisle persuaded them to leave. Their voices were too loud for my head to deal with and I didn't want to deal with them worrying over me, so I covertly asked Carlisle to kick them out. Apparently, Edward had stopped by to see how I was doing, but he ended up just talking with Bella since I did not feel like talking to anyone. I was still curious as to where Jasper went and I had eventually asked Carlisle if he knew where he was. Carlisle told me he probably just went home which led to me complaining slightly about how I had to go to the hospital when he got to just go home. Dr. Cullen found my whining amusing considering the small smile on his face and I was slightly disappointed when I was checked out of the hospital and deemed alright to go home. I rather enjoyed talking to him and had even manage to weasel a doctor's excuse out of him for the next two days of school.

He ended up prescribing me some strong ass pain meds that had made all my thoughts go fuzzy and had me sleeping for over 12 hours. It was strange not having my thoughts whirling around in my head constantly and I actually got some good drug-ridden sleep. The dreams were a bit strange though. They kept revolving around the Cullens, Jasper in particular, and involved some really weird scenarios. The last one that I could remember was that I was in the forest behind my house and I was looking for something or someone. I kept looking around at the ground and all around me, but I couldn't seem to find it. The woods were getting darker and darker, so I tried to hurry and ended up falling down on my ass. Then suddenly Jasper's pale face appeared in front of my with an extended hand. He grinned menacingly at me, flashing some straight sharp-looking teeth at me, and then asked if I needed any help. Something about the way he said it made me feel scared and the last thing I remember before I woke up was looking into his gold eyes and watching them slowly turn black.

 **Sorry for the slow updates, but I'm taking my finals soon so all my attention has been on studying and trying to raise my grades. I should be able to start updating more regularly after summer starts :) A gigantic thank you to all those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story! It makes me feel more confident about my writing and super guilty when I don't update, but guilt is good because it gets me off my lazy bum and onto a keyboard. I hoped you enjoyed reading this chapter and feel free to give me any critics :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**WARNING: Graphic description of a panic attack.**

The next day I woke up with my head throbbing. Bella had already gone to school by the time I woke up, leaving me a note about how she didn't want to stay home and miss the field trip they were going on. I didn't give two shits about some field trip to go see some plants, so I was happy to stay home and relax in a pain killer haze. I had even planned on sleeping even more than I had, but unfortunately the dream that I had kept popping up in my thoughts. The strangeness of the dream really stuck with me and the appearance of Jasper in it had me thinking more and more about how he saved me from the van.

I already knew that Jasper and his whole family weren't exactly normal, but I hadn't considered figuring out what was up with them until now. I had been happy with just forgetting about them and minding my own damn business, but now my curiosity was at its peak. Luckily, I was alone for now and would be able to come up with all sorts of theories without any interruptions. Charlie wasn't coming home from work for awhile and Bella wouldn't be back from school for another 5 hours.

Before I started, I made a quick trip downstairs to make some coffee and to grab some toast. After grabbing my fuel for the day I went back up to my room and set my food and coffee on my desk and booted up my computer. Charlie had been nice enough to not only get a computer for Bella's room, but also mine which I really appreciated right now.

I took a few bites of my toast before grabbing out a notebook and pen from one of the desk drawers. I figured the best way to solve this mystery was to start with what I already knew. I started to write down a list of all the things I knew so far. They were abnormally fast and strong judging by the fact that Jasper had both stopped the van from hitting me and did it from across the parking lot. They had very good hearing considering the multiple times I saw them look over at our table when we were talking about them. Something that I hadn't thought much of until now. They were weirdly pale and way too damn pretty. Their eyes were also varying shades of black and gold….

I bit the end of my pen as I tried to come up with more things that were unnatural about them. I let out a long sigh when I realized that there wasn't much else I knew besides the fact that one of them was a prick. My eyes glanced down to my list and it barely took up half of the page.

"Well….I could know nothing…" I muttered to myself. "At least I know this much…" I continued before fully realizing that I was talking to myself. I turned to the desktop and was about to start searching online when I heard a ringing coming from downstairs. I let out a loud sigh before getting out of my computer chair and rushing downstairs.

I managed to pick up the phone before it went to voicemail and immediately regretted it.

"Hello?" I heard Renee's voice ask and I stopped myself from letting out another sigh.

"Hey." I said and hoped the conversation would end quickly.

"Is that all you have to say to your mother after not talking to her for weeks?" I cringed at her condescending tone.

"Sorry Mom, I've been busy." I said.

"Yeah, I imagine. Putting your sister in danger must take a lot of time." She said sharply and winced at the accusatory tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the bullshit, Willow. I don't have time for it."

"I seriously don't know what you are talking about!" I told her angrily. I wasn't in the mood to deal with her shit and my head was starting to throb again.

"DON'T YOU DARE USE TONE WITH ME!" She barked at me and it sent a jab of pain through my skull. "The ONLY reason I let you go to Forks was to have you watch over Bella! And now I hear that you got her into an accident and she was almost hit by a VAN!"

"It wasn't my fault! The van.." She cut me off before I could finish.

"I DON'T CARE! Bella was put into danger because you probably pissed off some guy with your attitude! It wouldn't be the first time!" I let out a gasp of pain at both the pain in my skull and the memory that came to mind at her words.

"Fuck you." I told her quietly as I began to shake.

"What? You don't like me bringing that up? Well too bad! You're the person who put their little sister in danger AGAIN! Let me guess, was it one of your boyfriends again? Did he tell you that he loved you? You should know better than to fall for that again. I wonder how long this one will last before he can't take knowing you anymore!" She said mockingly and I couldn't take it anymore.

I was shaking. I could hear that Renee was still talking, but I wasn't listening. My mind was reliving memories of the past that tore and tore at my heart.

"How long will it take before you kill this one too!" I heard her say before I could slam the phone back on the receiver.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't get enough air.

I felt tears fall down my face as I fell to the floor. My breaths were coming out in gasps and my chest was on fire.

I curled my knees to my chest as memories flashed through my head. Memories of his smiling face. Memories of his body lying on the floor.

My mind kept repeating Renee's words over and over again. Each time I breathed it sent a jagged pain through my head and chest. Every time I blinked, his face flashed in front of my eyes.

The same face that was a part of my happiest and saddest memories. The face that had haunted my dreams for months until I finally locked away any memories of him and hid them in the deepest parts of my mind.

My hands clenched harder and harder the more that I thought about him. Memories were flashing through my head of his smiles and of his lifeless eyes. I felt my nails bite into my palm, but ignored the pain as tears slowly rolled down my cheeks. I cursed myself for being so weak. For being so fragile that even a mention of him sent me off the deep end. But, even as I cursed myself I couldn't stop the tears. I couldn't stop the pain.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I flinched violently away from it. Another jolt of pain went through me as my head connected with wall behind me, but I was too focused on the person in front of me. Through a haze of tears I made out the concerned face of Alice Cullen.

"Get...out." I said between shallow gasps of air as I tried to get a hold of myself.

Instead of leaving, Alice got closer to me and I immediately tried to move away from her. "Please...just leave." I pleaded weakly and my body shook. I didn't want anyone to see me like this. I closed my eyes in order to focus on getting my breathing under control, but instead I saw his face again. I let out another sob and flinched when I felt a pair of hard arms wrap around my waist. I opened my eyes and saw that I was no longer on the floor, but instead on a couch with a hand moving in circles on my back. I immediately tried to move away from the hand and the body that was sitting next to me, but another arm gently held me in place.

Another sob escaped me and I put a hand to my mouth with the hopes of quieting the sound.

"You're fine, just take deep breaths. Deep breaths, okay?" Alice told me softly and I tried to do as she told. I focused on the feeling of her hand on my back and the sound of her voice as she talked calmly. I slowly began to breathe easier as I focused on something other than my memories. Tears were still flowing out of my eyes, but I could take deeper breathes and the pain in my chest started to fade.

"What...are you...doing here?" I asked between breaths. My voice was rough and gravely and my throat was raw from the sobs.

"I knew you were in trouble and I couldn't leave you like this." She told me softly and my face scrunched up in confusion.

"Why?" I asked quietly as my breathing started to even out and the memory of him was being slowly locked away again.

"Why? Because you're my friend and I couldn't leave a friend like this."

"You barely know me." I said and rubbed away the tears away from my eyes with shaky hands.

"I know, but I will soon and I would never forgive myself if I didn't help you." She told me with a soft smile and I simply nodded.

We stayed like that for awhile. Her hand rubbing my back and me sobbing quietly. After a long time, my breathing evened out and the tears started to slow. I was slowly able to pull myself back to the present and focus on what was going on around me.

I slowly moved away from Alice and slowly got up from the couch. "I need a moment." I told her before slowly moving upstairs to the bathroom. As soon as the bathroom door was closed, I let out a deep breath and started to gather myself up. I looked into the mirror and saw that my eyes were bloodshot and my hair was horribly tangled. There were tears streaks all down my cheeks and I had large dark bags under my eyes.

I let out a shaky sigh before I started to make myself look less pathetic. I splashed some water on my face and wiped away the tears. I used a towel to clean the water off and saw that I had nail marks gouged into my palms. Luckily, they weren't bleeding, but they would certainly leave a bruise. I let out another sigh before leaving the bathroom and facing my uninvited guest.

I started to make my way down the stairs and saw that Alice was sitting at the dining room table with a coffee cup next to her. She smiled gently at me before gesturing at the seat opposite of her. I slowly made my way towards her and sat down in the chair.

She handed me the mug next to her. "It's coffee", she told me and I nodded.

"Thanks." I said quietly and took a sip. The hot liquid instantly made me feel a little better and helped me focus on the person in front of me. I glanced at the clock that was hanging in the living room and saw that it was only 11 o'clock. I turned back to Alice and frowned.

"Why are you here and not at school? Why are you here at all? How did you even know that I was…" I couldn't think of a good way to say 'having a break down', so I just let the question hang as I stared at Alice.

"I knew you were in need of help, so I left school and came here." She said with a smile, but I kept frowning at her.

"How did you know?" I asked her again and she smiled sheepishly.

"Lets just say that I had a feeling." She said as her eyes pleaded me to drop the question before she suddenly became serious. "Now, the more important question is; are you alright?" She asked me softly and I winced when I thought what I must've have looked like to her.

"I'm fine." I said shortly, hoping that she would drop the subject. She stared at me for a few awkward minutes before smiling gently.

"Of course you are." I blinked in surprise when she didn't press me for more answers. "How's your head doing?" She asked and I took a moment to evaluate the painful throb that was going through my head.

"It's fine." I lied and stared at her in surprise when she slid my pill bottle across the table.

"I thought you might need them and they were sitting on your bedside table." She explained and I nodded. I popped the cap off with ease and dropped two of the pills into my palm. I then tossed them into my mouth and took a swallow of my coffee.

"Thanks." I told her softly. We sat in an awkward silence for a few more minutes and then I took another glance at the clock. "Shouldn't you be at school? Won't the other Cullens be worried?" I asked, frowning when Jasper's face popped into my mind.

"Nah, I already told the school that I was taking a sick day. Plus, Edward already knows where I am." She explained and I nodded.

"So, are you going home then?" I asked with a frown. I didn't really want to talk to her or anyone, but I didn't want to be alone either. My hands were still shaking and I didn't know what I would do if Renee called again.

"Of course not." She said with a smile as if it was the most obvious answer. "Now, where do you keep your movies?"

She stayed until it was close to Bella coming home. She didn't ask me what happened and I didn't ask how she knew that I needed help. We didn't talk and she didn't try to make me. We just sat and watched movies. I can't even remember what we watched. All I remembered was her just being there. Just being there, so I wouldn't have to be alone. And for that I was extremely grateful.

I didn't tell Bella or Charlie about Renee's phone call or about Alice being there. I acted as if it had never happened. I listened as Bella told me all about her day and the field trip. I made the correct noises and comments as she ranted about Edward's behavior. But, I didn't really care. I just wanted to get the day over with. So, I ended up using my headache as an excuse to go to bed early. I told Bella and Charlie that I would be going to school tomorrow and then went and curled up in bed. I fell asleep, hoping that I wouldn't dream about the past.

 **I'm sorry that I'm so late with the update. My computer has decided to war against me and is no longer connecting to the wifi. Also, I am having a hard time finding initiative to do anything during the summer. I will try to be more prudent with updating and will start writing chapters in advance. Thanks to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story :D It really helps with my motivation and I will now be responding to any questions or comments you guys put in the reviews :) Feel free to critic my writing and I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello ladies and gents, sorry that the chapter is so late. I had to rewrite it twice and I have been busy with school. I can't say that the next chapter will be on time either, but I hope you enjoy this chapter :) Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. It's nice to know that people like reading this story and want more :)**

I woke up feeling awful. There was an awful headache pounding in my head and I had large bags under my eyes. Luckily, with one of my fantastic pain meds I could fix at least one of those problems. Along with my under eyes, I also couldn't fix the overwhelming urge to just sleep until I eventually started to decay away. However, I had already told Charlie and Bella that I would go to school today and I didn't feel like staying at home when at any time the phone could ring again. So, instead of sleeping the day away, I got my ass up and tried to make the best out of my appearance.

I tossed my knotted curls up into a messy bun and then washed the tear streaks off of my face. Then I threw on a large hoodie and a pair of leggings before grabbing a pair of boots. Once the boots were on my feet, I started to make my way downstairs.

Bella was eating cereal at the dining room table and she smiled at me softly. "How are you feeling?" She asked and I just groaned in response. She nodded and then gestured towards the kitchen, "I already put on a pot of coffee for you. I figured you would need it this morning." I nodded thankfully and then entered said kitchen. I poured out some coffee into a travel mug and then went back into the dining room. I took a few gulps of my lovely coffee and grinned when the warm liquid started to wake me up.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" Bella asked as she finished up her cereal.

"No, I'm not hungry." I told her and Bella just raised an eyebrow at me before putting her bowl and spoon in the sink.

"Well, we better get going before we're late for school."

On the way to school Bella had played one of her classical music CDs, so we didn't talk much. I was thankful for this because as much as I loved Bella, I really didn't want to talk to her. She was fairly good at finding out when something was bothering me and I had no intentions of letting her figure out that Renee had called. Bella knew Renee and I didn't have the best relationship, but she didn't know how far Renee would go in order to 'teach me a lesson' and I wanted to keep it that way. Bella loves Renee and that makes both of them happy, which means that both of them generally leave me alone. And as long as Bella stays happy and healthy then I barely have to talk to Renee.

When we got to school, Bella gave me a cute little reminder that if I don't feel well then I should tell her because she could drive me home. Of course, I would not being doing that even if I did feel sick, but she didn't know that. After that, we went our separate ways and I went to my first hour class.

There wasn't many kids in the class yet, so I went to my usual seat and immediately put my head down on the desk. My pain medicine had yet to kick in and I was still feeling the urge to crawl back into bed, so I tried to block out the sounds around me. It went fairly well until I felt a light touch on my shoulder and jolted upwards. The motion sent a sharp jab of pain through my head, but I tried to ignore the pain.

I looked in the direction of the touch and saw the concerned face of Edward Cullen.

"What?" I asked in a tired voice.

"Are you alright?" He asked me and I shrugged. He frowned at me and his eyebrows formed a crinkle between them.

"You were almost hit by a car and you have a severe concussion. I'm not even sure you should be at school right now. Are you sure that you're fine?" I was almost touched by his concern, so I decided to kinda tell the truth.

"You are right, I'm not fine. I have a killer headache and all I want to do is go back to bed. However, I don't want to be home alone, so here I am." I told him in a frustrated voice. He seemed to understand what I was saying because he went back to his seat and proceeded to leave me be for the rest of the hour.

The rest of my classes before lunch went pretty similar. Everyone left me alone except for a few brave souls who asked me how I was feeling and promptly got their heads bitten off. My headache was not going away and the pain was making my temper slowly rise.

When the bell rang and dismissed the last class I had before lunch I was extremely happy. I was looking forward to just sitting in the lecture hall and enjoying the quiet.

I made my way through the crowded hallway and almost made it the lecture hall before I was stopped by Bella. She was looking at me with worry and she offered to have me sit with her, but there was no way that I was going to sit in the noisy ass lunchroom.

I didn't stop to get food either because the pain medicine that was not doing its job was also making me nauseous as hell. There wasn't many people in the room, so I made my way to a corner and sat down on the floor with my head against the cold wall.

Being in the lecture hall again reminded me about the incident with Jasper when he had tried to help me. Even thinking about it made me cringe a bit considering it wasn't my best moment and I had been very bitchy. I had already apologized, so I didn't feel as guilty about it. However, the memory of it then turned my thoughts towards Jasper. I started to wonder why he came to help me. He barely knew me and all he knew was that I was angry. Any person in their right mind would leave an angry stranger alone and yet he came to help. It was very odd, just like everything else about him and his family.

Questions came to mind about the accident. How did he get to me so fast and how did he stop the van? At first, I was prepared to let it go because I was grateful and felt sorry about being such an ass to him, but now I was curious. It was obvious and yet insane that first explanation that came to mind was that they weren't human. It couldn't have been any drugs that I had heard of and it wasn't like he has just really fast. Something was different with him and his family. They all looked strangely alike with their pale skin and gold eyes, even though they were adopted. Plus, they each were annoyingly gorgeous. Unless they were weird governmental experiments then they were probably not human.

Before I could think more about it the door to the lecture hall opened with a creak then made my head pound. And speak of the devil, Jasper was there opening the door.

He had an awkward grimace on his face, but he quickly turned it back into a neutral expression when he saw that I was looking at him.

"Hey." I said and gave an awkward hand wave. The corner of his mouth (and boy was that a mouth) twitched upwards and he started to make his way the corner I was in. A few of the people in the lecture hall looked at him in shock, but then they went back to their own worlds.

"Hey." Jasper repeated as he sat down a few feet away from me. He was oddly far away, but I decided to shove that thought to the back of my head. "How are you doing?" He asked and I raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Good for almost being hit by a car." I responded with a smirk and he frowned.

"Are you sure? You're not in pain or anything?" He continued with an expectant voice, as if he knew I would answer yes. My brows furrowed slightly before I answered.

"Well, I'm sore as hell and my head is pounding, but other than that I'm peachy." Jasper looked at me worriedly for a second before responding.

"I'm not making it worse, am I?" He asked in a slightly softer voice and I let out a small chuckle, ignoring the way it jostled my head.

"No, you're fine. For some reason your voice isn't bothering me as much as I thought it would." I said jokingly and Jasper smiled. His teeth were perfectly white and his smile sent a jolt of excitement up my spine.

"Well, that's good." He said with joking relief before his smile dropped. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I didn't see you in the lunchroom and I kn...thought that you might be in pain still." He caught himself from saying that he 'knew' I was in pain, but he didn't catch it quick enough. This brought up more questions in my head. However, I decided to not voice them for the sake of being not nosy to the guy who saved my life. "Also, Alice was pretty worried as well." He added and I frowned at the thought of the little brunette being anything but excited and happy.

"Well, make sure to tell her that I'm perfectly fine. I don't want her worrying about someone like me." The last thought slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. I had a moment of hope that Jasper hadn't payed attention to the last part, but the frown that appeared on his face dashed that hope. Shit.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked with concern and I decided to fake ignorance.

"What are you talking about?" I asked in a fake oblivious tone, but it shook a bit at the end. All of the comments Renee had made were coming back to the forefront of my mind. I frowned as I felt guilt and depression start to weigh down on me the more I thought about what Renee said. I started to drift off into a down spiral of negative thoughts when suddenly I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and a peaceful calm. My eyes shot open in surprise and I stared at Jasper whose hand was now on my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a worried voice and it took me a few minutes to figure out if I was.

"...Yes?" I said in a confused voice before staring at Jasper with a frown. "How did you do that?" I asked and he flinched away from me and then dropped his hand.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." He said with a frown before standing up and moving away from me slightly. I felt the calm slowly start to ebb away and it was replaced with my own curiosity. I stood up as well and crossed my arms in stubbornness.

"Yes, you do know what I'm talking about. What did you just do?" I asked in a serious tone and he glanced away from me towards to the doors. Then he glanced back at me with a frown. I opened my mouth and was about to question him further when the doors suddenly opened. I glanced to them out of reflex and was surprised to see the little pixie dashing out of them and towards me. She collided with me and gave me a bone crushing hug that had me struggling to breath. I lightly tapped her shoulder to get her to release me and she let go shyly.

"How are you doing?" She asked immediately with concern etched on her face. Her concern made me smile softly.

"I'm fine Alice." I told her with a smile and Jasper frowned.

"She's been having headaches." The little bastard ratted me out and before I could set him on fire with a glare, Alice pinned me with a look.

"Oh really? So, you aren't fine." Alice raised an eyebrow at me and I opened my mouth to defend myself, but was quickly cut off. "I bet you haven't even eaten today, have you? And here you are, lying to your new best friend that 'you are fine'. I see how it is." Alice dramatically turned away from with a huff and I had to cough in order to hide a laugh at her antics.

"The headaches are to be expected and my pain meds makes me slightly nauseous." I sent a glare towards Jasper who was conveniently looking away. "I am fine, really." I said the last part as sincerely as I could and Alice seemed to have believed me. She gave me a bright smile and was about to say something when she was interrupted by the bell.

She gave me another bright smile before grabbing onto Jasper's arm. "Well, we should go now. I'll see you later!" She said with a wave and started to drag Jasper out of the room with her. Jasper glanced at me before he left and I didn't understand the look in his eyes.

It was another hour of class before I realized that Jasper had completely avoided my questions.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, sorry this chapter is a little short compared to my other chapters. It's more of a filler chapter that sets up what Willow is thinking and her train of thought. The chapter will be longer next time, I promise :) I wanna give a huge thanks to everyone who was favorited, followed, and reviewing this story despite my habit of late updates :) You guys absolutely rock and you make this really fun and fulfilling for me. I hope you enjoy this chapter :P**

Bella was pissed off and it was hilarious. She had been asked out to the Sadie Hawkins dance by both Mike and Tyler who both couldn't take a hint. I was there for the hilarious parking lot incident when Edward had blocked her car in and Tyler had used it as an opportunity to ask her out. After having to explain that she wouldn't be in town for it, multiple times, she was starting to get irritated. It also didn't help that pretty boy was being confusing as hell.

I had to admit that would be as confused as she was if a guy was acting so hot and cold to me. Edward had gone from seemly hating Bella to asking what her plans for the dance. He went from cryptically saying they shouldn't be friends to eating lunch with her. I'm honestly surprised that Bella hasn't just said 'fuck it' and punched him in the face. Then again, she was Bella and I doubt she would ever punch someone in the face, especially someone she had a massive crush on. It was honestly the funniest and most adorable thing to see Bella and pretty boy interact. She was obviously into Edward and he seemed be torn between kissing her and killing her.

My relationship with the Cullens wasn't exactly normal either though. Edward and I would joke around in first hour and we seemed to have a tentative friendship based on empty threats of bodily harm, the threats mostly coming from me. He had already apologized to Bella, so the threats weren't serious, but it was entertaining to see how he reacted to them. He usually looked amused by my threats and I took that as a good sign. Alice also seemed to have taken a liking to me and would occasionally talk to me in the halls. It was usually about nonsensical things like what my favorite color was or when my birthday was. Emmett would occasionally grin at me and his booming laugh would fill the cafeteria after I would say a particularly good insult about Jessica. I have no idea how he heard me across the cafeteria, but I already accepted that the Cullens weren't normal, so just went with it. Emmett's girlfriend Rosalie, however, seemed to be intent on melting my face off with her glares and Jasper was avoiding me. I can't exactly blame Jasper for avoiding me though, I was on the verge of interrogating him the last time we talked. However, I couldn't stop myself from feeling a tad hurt at the fact he was ignoring me.

It was strange that I was so attracted to a guy that I barely knew. Sure Jasper was sexy as hell, but that usually wasn't enough to get me to want to jump someone's bones. Bella seemed to having the same problem with Edward, which was even stranger since she hadn't had any interest in guys up till this point. A part of me wondered if they had slipped us some love potions or that they had some magical ability, but I was pretty sure that wasn't the case. They seemed just as irritated and confused as we are, which could explain Edward's weird behavior. There was just too many questions floating in my head about what the hell the Cullen family was. It sounds crazy, but I was positive that they weren't human or at least not 'normal' humans.

So, when Bella went off to La Push with her friends, I decided to stay in and do some research on the internet. After an hour of research I learned that there was a lot of things that had supernatural strength and speed. Superheros, druggies, mutants, and urban legends popped up and after I reached the 3 page of my google search I realized that I was going to have to narrow it down. What else was weird about the Cullens?

They were all ridiculously beautiful and they were all pale. I typed 'beautiful and pale creatures' into the search box. Immediately I was bombarded with articles on vampires, witches, Harry Potter creatures, and other magical beings. I frowned, they were all equally unbelievable. Then I remembered the eyes that haunted my dreams. Those strange gold eyes that they all seemed to share. I added it to the search and was rewarded by my number of pages going down significantly. They were mostly all websites on werewolves and vampires with a few obscure monsters included.

Vampire or werewolf was what it came down to, unless they were mutants or science experiments. They really could be either considering the increased strength, speed, and gold eyes. The only thing that didn't fit the werewolf angle was the paleness and the only thing that didn't fit the vampire angle was the eye color. Most of the websites I've been on, some of them _very interesting_ , claimed that vampires typically have red eyes.

I didn't really have a definite answer. I could just be crazy and the Cullens are completely normal, but something in my gut told me that was wrong. Nobody was that pretty without something supernatural going on. Plus, it would explain why Edward was so off and on with Bella. He probably didn't want her to find out about their secret, but can't help his attraction. _Sounds like a really bad soap opera._

Speaking of Edward, that reminded me of something Bella said. She had invited him to go to La Push with her when he had talked to her at lunch. He had told her that he was going hunting with his family. When she had mentioned it to Jessica, the stuck-up bitch, Jessica told her that the Cullens usually go camping, hiking, or hunting on sunny days. Like every single day that it was sunny throughout the school year. That was really strange now that I thought about it. Why would their parents pull their kids out of school just because the weather was nice? It couldn't be that much of a rarity in Forks and that would mean that the Cullen's missed a lot of school.

Maybe I was being paranoid and was thinking too much into this. However, if I had to place my bets on 'what' they were, I would bet on vampire. It was too much of a coincidence that they happened to miss school on days when it's sunny. _Do you know who else doesn't go to school when it's sunny? Vampires, that's who._

I turned off the computer and reclined back in my chair. After around 5 hours of scouring the internet, I had a theory. A theory that made plenty sense if you didn't think too much about the impossibility of it. A smirk grew on my face as I reveled in the feeling of having my curiosity satisfied. Then it fell as I realized that it would be hard to confirm my theory. I would have to have one of the Cullen's admit it or I would have to gather enough evidence to prove the theory to myself. Both options had low success rates, but I had a whole year of school and a shitload of determination to back me up. I was also personally invested considering my sister was attached to a certain pretty boy vampire. There was a chance that he could hurt her and I really didn't want to take that chance.

So, my list of impossible things to do before the end of the school year was;

Prove the Cullens are vampires

Find out Edward's intentions

Find out how to dispose of Edward if said intentions are questionable

Get rid of my strange attraction to Jasper.

They were all equally difficult and important, so I decided to just start at the top of the list. I would test Edward while in my first hour to see if I can find any evidence of vampirism and then observe the Cullen in general. The second part wasn't exactly going to aid me in terms of step 4, but I was just going to have to deal with it. _Just because Jasper is handsome as hell, doesn't mean you should have a crush on him. He may be nice so far and very empathic and caring, but he could have the personality of a goldfish or he could be a vampire. Keep in your pants Willow, keep in your pants._


	12. Chapter 12

**It's a Christmas miracle, I'm actually updating on time :) Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited you guys are the bomb! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter :)**

 _This is a bad idea._ I sat in my desk and waited for Edward to arrive. _This was really stupid._ I fiddled with my book and notebook in front of me. _Why am I like this?_ It has taken me some time over the weekend to figure out how I was going to 'test' Edward. Bella had been weirdly quiet after her trip to La Push and Charlie had worked Sunday, so I had plenty of time and privacy to think up a plan. However, I had only managed to think up one sure fire test to see if he was a vampire and it was a really stupid test.

I jumped slightly when I noticed that Edward has already sat down without me noticing. _Yes, Willow, let your guard down around a possible vampire. That's a great idea._ He sent me a smirk and chuckled lightly at my reaction.

"What? Did little ol' me scare you?"He asked teasingly and I huffed.

"No, I was just thinking. I bet you wouldn't even be able to scare a bunny rabbit with a face like that." I retorted before I could really think about it.

"Oh, and what kind of face is that?"

I rolled my eyes, "The pretty kind of face that even my loner sister can't stand to be parted with." I said sassily while rolling my eyes and was satisfied when Edward didn't remark right away. He had a guilty and confused expression on his face and the sight of it had me gaining a bit more empathy for him. "Don't worry champ, if I thought you weren't good for her I would've castrated you already." I almost choked on the amount of understanding I had in my voice. _This is ridiculous, I'm telling a vampire that he shouldn't feel guilty that he is seducing my sister. What the hell is wrong with me?_

"You really shouldn't think that. I'm not good for her." Edward said seriously and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Cut the bad boy shit, man. It's not working with a face that pretty. You won't change my or Bella's opinion of you, no matter how much you try to be a dick. We both have a good judge of character, so shut the hell up." I finished my rant and was satisfied to see that Edward was speechless.

A few more people came into the room and I figured now would be the time for the test. There were multiple witnesses in the room, Edward was distracted, and I either made him hate me or like me more. _This was a really fucking stupid plan._

I casually thumbed through my notebook while humming and then purposely gave myself a deep paper cut in my index finger. A drop of blood started to form my cut and I sneakily looked over to see Edward's reaction and I immediately regretted what I did. _Fuck me._

He was hunched over his desk with his hands curled into fists in his lap. His face was twisted into a pained scowl and his eyes darkened to almost black. I watched as his nostrils flared and I held my breath in anticipation. _Shit._

The classroom was almost full and the teacher was sitting at his desk. I felt a flood of guilt at the fact that I just endangered all their lives. If Edward attacked me, his family or him would definitely dispose of any witnesses. I needed to do something.

"Edward, calm down. You're not going to eat me and you are going to be fine." My voice was low and soothing as I said it and I imagined him calming down. I. watched in amazement as the tension in his body slowly trickled out and his eyes turned back to a honey gold. He let out a deep breath and then looked at me in confusion.

"How did you…?" His voice trailed off and I stared at him, shocked. He was about to rip my head off and now he was fine?

"No clue, but it's good to know that I need to avoid paper cuts around you." I said it jokingly and before he could respond the teacher started the lesson. He would occasionally look at me in confusion and suspicion throughout the lesson. I knew he wanted to ask how I calmed him down or what I knew, but I wasn't really sure how to answer those questions. I was especially confused at how a few words managed to calm down a hungry vampire. So, when the bell rang I immediately got out of the room and away from Edward.

The paper cut had already stopped bleeding by the time I left first hour and I made sure to avoid any Cullens I saw in the hallways. However, when the bell ran for lunch I knew that I would have to pay the piper.

The paper cut and my joke responses about it probably revealed that I knew more than I should about their secret, a secret which was now confirmed. This was not a good a thing. They could see me as a threat and kill me or threaten my sister for my silence. Neither were very good opinions. There was also the other problem of how the hell I managed to stop Edward from ripping my throat with just a few words. I'm glad it happened and that he didn't kill me right then and there, but I was still bewildered. However, I had other things to worry about right now, like the possible confrontation between the Cullens and I.

I debated just waiting in Bella's truck during lunch, but I didn't have the keys and I wasn't a coward. There was no way that I would hide away and wait for the possibility of death by fang. So, I went into lunch room with my head held high and walked straight to my sister's table. I didn't even glance at the Cullen's table, but I could feel their stares on my back.

Bella was taking to Jessica, so I plopped down next to Bella and threw myself into the conversation. I was going to do anything I could in order to ignore the vampires staring a hole into the back of my head, even if it meant talking to Bella's 'friends'.

"So, what are we talking about?" I said cheerily and Jessica glared at me. She looked like a pissed off poodle and it made me shake slightly in laughter. Bella apparently saw this as an opportunity to try to get me to be friends with her 'friends'.

"We're talking about going dress shopping in Port Angeles this weekend." She told me with a smile and I raised an eyebrow.

"Really? You dress shopping? What is this? The apocalypse?" I asked sarcastically and Bella slapped my shoulder.

"We wanted her to help us find dresses for the dance." The pretty dark haired girl said. _I think her name is Angela?_

"You want fashion advice...from my sister?" It was unbelievable. Bella didn't have a fashionable bone in her body. She lived in plain sweater, cardigans, and jeans. I don't think she has worn a dress since she was 12.

Bella huffed while I just smirked at her. "Well, clearly I need to come along to help you guys out." I invited myself. I didn't really want to go and help out these girls find dresses, but I did not want to be in town this weekend or any day. It was just a matter of time before the Cullens realized that I knew their secret, if they didn't know already, and I did not want to be around when they do. _I'm a weak human girl and they are fucking vampires. I'm dead._

Jessica sneered at me, but before she could say anything Angela spoke up. "The more the merrier." She said with a kind smile and I accidentally smiled back

They hammered out the details of the trip for the rest of lunch. Jessica was going to pick Bella and I up on Saturday and then we would drive down to Port Angeles. I wasn't looking forward to being in the car with Jessica for so long, but it was worth it.

I managed to make it til the end of school without any interactions with the Cullens and my outlook was looking good. That outlook quickly turned cloudy when I saw Edward leaning up against Bella's car. Bella wasn't even in the parking lot yet and there were only a few students besides Edward and I that were in the parking lot. It was a recipe for murder, but I ignored my fear and walked up to him. _Act normal and like nothing is wrong. Act like he totally isn't a blood sucking vampire._

"What are you doing loitering around my sister's car like a love sick puppy?" I said teasingly and Edward had a small smile on his face. _Yes, keep the bloodthirsty vampire happy. It will make him more likely to keep you alive._

"I was actually waiting for you." He said and I scrunched up my nose is fake disgust.

"Gross, pretty boy. I'm sorry but you're just not my type." Edward rolled his eyes, but didn't retort like usually. At this point it felt like I was going to have a heart attack, but I swallowed my fear and tried to look calm. A flash of guilt ran across his face and my heart dropped. _Shit. Why is he feeling guilty? Shit. I'm gonna die, aren't I? Motherfucker._

Edward frowned and took a step closer and I automatically took a step back. A hurt expression appeared on his face and I felt a little bad for putting it there. _Vampire, Willow, not a golden retriever puppy. Treat him like a vampire, not an adorable lovesick puppy._

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could I felt a wave of calm wash over me and I automatically looked behind me to see Jasper standing there. I know that should've felt even more fear with there now being two vampires, but for some godforsaken reason I felt safer with Jasper here.

"Edward, Carlisle is waiting for us at home." Jasper told him and Edward stared at him for a few moments before nodding. I was curious if the staring was guy communication or if there was like a vampire radio in their heads.

"See you tomorrow, Willow." Edward said before walking to his silver Volvo that now had his family surrounding it. Rosalie glared at me _(I wonder if that's her permanent expression)_ , Alice grinned, and Emmett was looking at Rosalie. Then I glanced at Jasper, who was now standing beside me.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly and I nodded. Jasper stopped and looked at me closely for a few seconds before looking away. I felt another wave of calm and serenity as I watched Jasper head back to his family. There was a little pinch in my heart from seeing him walk away from me, but buried that feeling and focused on the other vampires. Rosalie and Alice started arguing immediately, but I was too far away to hear anything. They all piled into their car and I watched as they drive away. My mouth turned into a frown as the feeling of being calm faded away and I was left with anxiousness and worry. _What the fuck just happened?_

Before I could delve more into the weirdness that I had just experienced, Bells came jogging up to the truck. She also managed to trip on thin air while doing it which caused me to wheeze in laughter for a good 5 minutes. I earned a few of Bella's 'behave' smacks before the truck's cab was filled with conversation. Bells told me about how her trip to La Push had went and about her classes. There was something she was leaving out about her trip to La Push, but I wasn't going to push her into talking about it since she was probably going to spill the beans herself. Bella was absolute shit at keeping secrets to herself and would usually let something slip out when she wasn't paying attention. Luckily, she didn't usually hang out with other people, so she didn't exactly reveal her secrets to strangers.

Bella also asked me about why I wanted to go with her to Port Angeles. I decided to just lie ( _I was much better at it than she was_ ) and say that I wanted to see what my options were for shopping. It also wasn't that bad of an idea to do that anyway since my only real goal for the trip was to get the hell away from the Cullens.

I sighed and slumped into the leather of the truck. There was four more days left in the week that I would have to survive. I would have to watch both my mouth and my reactions in order to not give away what I knew, but chances were that I already had. Hell, even my trip to Port Angeles wasn't that good of a solution to my problem since I would have to go right back to school one day after. Maybe I could find some way to defend myself against vampires while down there? Hopefully, it would be a Buffy like situation where an old book in a dusty library will hold all the answers. It wasn't the best of plans, but it was currently the only one I had. At least my list of impossible things to do has gotten shorter, but more urgent.

Prove the Cullens are vampires

Find out Edward's intentions

Find out how to dispose of Edward if intentions are questionable

Get rid of my strange attraction to Jasper


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys, it has been awhile. I'm sorry for the late update again, but I've been busy with highschool. It's my junior year and everything is chaos, so I can't** **guarantee** **that I'll update on a regular schedule. However, I will be updating and I won't be giving up on this story. I love Willow and her** **bitchiness** **and I refuse to kill off the story before I've even gotten to the good bits. I hope you enjoy this chapter and feel free to give me** **critiques** **in the reviews. A big thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed :)**

It was Saturday. It was Saturday and I was still among the living. It seemed to good to be true, but no vampires had managed to kill me this week. Which meant they either didn't know that I knew they were vampires or that they were just really lazy vampires. Honestly, if I had fangs I would've killed me already. A human possibly knowing my secret _and_ was a smartass, I would've murdered myself ages ago. It was confusing, but nevertheless, I was glad to still be breathing. At least, for now. Who knows what an hour in the car with Jessica will do to me.

So far, it had been nice. We were listening to some pop music and talking about the stores we wanted to go to. Jessica, The Stuck-up Bitch, hadn't said anything too bitchy to me yet and Angela actually seemed like a decent human being. It seemed like this shopping trip wouldn't turn out too horrendous and I might actually gain some info on the vampire situation. Both Bella and I were planning on going to an occult store to look for books. I was going to look for any books on vampires while Bella wanted to look for… something. She didn't really specify.

Our first stop was to this little dress shop where the prices were high and the styles out-dated. The second stop proved just as fruitless, but our third stop was actually productive. It was also the longest stop since Angela and The Stuck-up Bitch took forever to find dresses. Angela kept debating between a long pink dress and a short yellow dress while Jessica couldn't figure out if she wanted to look like a slut or not. I voted slut personally, it fit her personality the best.

When they finally finished, the sun was starting to set. Bella and I were currently debating on whether or not to ditch the other two. The store we needed to go to was going to close soon and my patience was beginning to wear thin with Jessica. I could only take so many backhanded compliments before I snapped.

"Bella, the store is going to close if we don't hurry up." I told her for the fifth time as we waited outside the store for Jessica and Angela. They were still inside, purchasing their dresses.

"I don't want to just leave them. It would be rude." Bells rolled her eyes at me when I huffed in frustration.

"Look, I'm sure they want to go to some other stores before dinner. Can't we just split up and then meet up for dinner at the restaurant?" I suggested hopefully and Bells seemed to consider it. When the girls came out of the store, Bella told them my plan. Jessica didn't seem too happy about it, but who honestly cares about her opinion? All that mattered was that Bella finally agreed to leave for the store.

We started walking to the store and while we walked we talked. She told me all about her classes and some of the interactions she has had with her 'lunch table friends'. The conversation was going well until she started to talk about Edward. It was clear that she was frustrated with him and that she had more of an idea about what was going on than I had thought. However, despite the frustration, it sounded like she really liked him. I don't know what it was that did it or how it happened, but Pretty Boy managed to get my sister wrapped around his finger. My sister, my only sister, had a giant crush on a vampire.

When we finally got to the store, I thought about the situation as I shopped. This was a clusterfuck that wasn't going to end nicely. Bells was infatuated with a vampire that was a dick half the time and I had a thing for Jasper. There was no way this was going to end well. Different species weren't meant to mix, especially if they are predator and prey.

It took us twenty minutes before we gave up on finding anything useful in the occult store. It was clearly more of a tourist trap than an actual resource. Bells and I started to walk back to the restaurant, but I made the mistake of letting Bella lead us while I thought about how screwed we were.

"Bells, where the fuck are we?" I asked her when I noticed the area was getting more and more shady. We had gotten away from the inner city and now seemed to be in some sort of industrial area with zero people around. It was also getting fairly dark and I started to get a bad feeling. _Nobody around, almost nighttime, and we are in the middle of a city. This is more dangerous than getting a papercut in front of a vampire._

"I'm not sure. Maybe, if we keep going we'll be able to find a store and ask for directions?" Bella answered in an unsure voice. I was about to tease her for getting us lost when I heard drunken slurring coming for an alley near us.

"Hey, ladies! Wanna have some fun?" They started to yell and I managed to get a good look at them. There was about six of them, all very drunk and very large. My stomach dropped. _Fuck._ They kept cat-calling us and then they started to walk towards us. The moment they started to get closer, I grabbed Bella's hand. I dragged her with me as I ran down the street. _This was not good. So very not good._

"C'mon, we just wanna talk!" One of them yelled and the others laughed. I couldn't see them anymore, but I could still hear them. I glanced over at Bella and saw that her face was white with fear. Anger filled me at the sight of her fear and all I wanted to do was turn around and confront those douchebags. But, I needed to get Bella safe first.

I started to lead us down more streets and alleys when I started to hear laughter coming in front of us. "Shit." There were three of them in front of us and I could still hear the three behind us. We ran down the alley next to us before we realized it was a dead end. "Fuck."

"Bella, get behind me." My tone left no room for debate and Bella moved behind me. I made sure that Bella's back was to the wall and then I took a defensive position in front of her. Bella had never been in a fight in her whole life while I had been in too many to count. I was going to make sure that Bella got out of here safe, even if it killed me. "Bella, if you see me start to lose. I want you to run." I ordered her in a quiet voice as the six men started to enter the alleyway.

"But," Bella started to object, but I interrupted her.

"No buts, you run if it starts to get bad." I told her seriously and then turned to face the men that were laughing and leering at us. The sight of them made my blood boil and I felt myself sneer. _They were going to pay for scaring my sister._

"Hey pretty ladies, why did you run away from us?" The leader taunted us and I cocked my head at him.

"You guys we just so ugly that I couldn't bear to look at you." I told him in a sickly sweet voice and Bella gasped from behind me. _Yes Bella, I'm being rude to our attackers._ Suddenly, the men all focused on me with anger glares and turned their attention away from Bella. _Worked like a charm._

"What did you just say bitch?" The leader growled out and I smiled sweetly.

"I'm sorry, maybe I should speak up. I said you guys were so hideous that we couldn't handle being anywhere near you. I honestly didn't expect you to be this stupid too." I didn't see the hit coming until it landed on my face. I felt blood dripping down my chin and the left side of my face throbbed. _That's gonna leave a mark._ I straightened myself and smiled broadly. I had a feeling that my teeth were bloody judging by the expression the men gave.

"Is that all you got?" I asked while cracking my knuckles. It was a total cliche that just wasted time, but damn did it look cool. The leader went to lunge at me before he was suddenly thrown several feet into the air. I blinked a few times in confusion before I saw that there was a silver Volvo in front of us. A silver Volvo that hit the guy so hard that he literally flew. _Cool._

"Get in the car!" A furious voice yelled from the Volvo. I recognized that pissed off voice, it was Edward Cullen. _Damn, he has good timing._ I waved to him before grabbing a shell-shocked Bella from behind me. I dragged her to the car and opened the door before pushing her into it. I buckled her seat belt for her before I turned towards Edward.

"Hi Pretty Boy, good timing." I greeted him cheerfully and he glared at me.

"Get in the goddamn car Willow." He growled, but I only smiled.

"Can't, you'll just have to take good care of Bella for me." _He better take good care of her. I'll break his face if he doesn't._ Judging by the expression on his face, he didn't need to be told to take care of her. Concern and anger were practically leaking from his every pore.

"Get the fuck in." He told me again and I rolled my eyes. I pointed to my face and the blood that I could still feel dripping.

"No can do, buddy boy. Bella's not bleeding, but I am. I do not feel like being a snack tonight." I looked around and saw that the other guys disappeared and only the leader was still here since he was knocked unconscious. "Besides, I am some unfinished business with this fella." I pointed at the leader's limp form.

Edward seemed to be conflicted, but after a few moments he nodded. "Fine, but I'm sending someone to get you." I shrugged before turning to Bella. She was staring at me with wide concerned eyes.

"I'll be fine Bells, someone has to stay behind and teach this guy a lesson." When her expression didn't change, I decided a different tactic. "And now you can have some alone time with your crush." I whispered to her, but I had no doubts that Edward heard me. Both Pretty Boy and Bells glared at me as I shut the door. I waved to them as they sped away and then I started to make my way towards the leader.

I crouched beside his body and glared down at him. He had a fairly pretty face and nice clothes. _Probably some frat guy._ He reeked of cologne and booze. There was a shiny class ring on his finger that I pocketed along with a watch that seemed like a family heirloom. I stood from my crouch and patted my pockets with a satisfied smile. Then I kicked him as hard as I could in the ribs.

He stopped screaming after 15 minutes of me playing with him. I glanced at his body and started to assess the damage I did. His face was bloodied and bruised, with several teeth missing. I broke at least 2 of his fingers and his wrist was probably fractured. Judging by his screams, I also broke four of his ribs and maybe even his collarbone. All in all, he wouldn't be able to scare any little sisters for a very long time. I smiled as I looked at his prone body before I started to take inventory of myself.

My knuckles were bruised and blooded from punching and one of my wrists felt like it was sprained. The blood had stopped dripping from my face and had dried. Without a mirror, I was guessing that one of my lips had split and that I had a good sized bruise on my face. There was also blood on my shoes, which was the most worrying of all the damage. _They were my favorites._ I sighed softly at their ruined state. It was going to take me awhile to get the bloodstains out of both my shoes and clothes. I used one of my hands to crack my neck and then began to walk out of the alley. I made it about two steps before a black mustang screeched to a halt in front of me. The driver's door flew open and suddenly Jasper was in front of me.

His hair was a mess of honey blond curls and it looked like he had just gotten out of bed. The clothes he was wearing were plain and wrinkled and he was wearing two very different socks. His eyes were also most black and they were filled with concern and anger. They were almost identical to what Edward's looked like moments ago.

"Hey Jas-"

"Are you alright?" He interrupted me and it would've pissed me off if he hadn't seemed so upset. I smiled softly at him, making sure not to show my teeth in case they were still bloody. I was really glad it was dark in the alley way, so he couldn't see the full extent of my injuries.

"I'm fine Jasper. Just a little bruised. The other guy looks much worse." I pointed to the lifeless body that was behind me. Jasper snarled at the sight of him and if I wasn't in so much pain, I would have swooned. He then turned back to me and looked me up and down. A relieved sigh escaped him before he reached forward and pulled me into his arms.

He smelled amazing. Like rain, trees, and spice. He was also really warm which made me question how cold I was that a vampire seemed warm. The hug felt safe and comforting and I felt wave after wave of peacefulness.

"You know, you don't have to do your emotional juju shit. I really am fine." I told him honestly and he chuckled lightly before releasing me.

"Sure ya are, let's just worry about getting you home for right now." His southern accent was comforting and I allowed him to help me into the mustang. He buckled me in before getting into the driver's side. _Wait, he wants to bring me home. Home to Dad. Home to my dad who's the Sheriff with a huge bruise on my face._ "What's wrong?" Jasper asked and for a second I was confused at how he knew something was up. _Vampire juju shit._

"It may not be a good idea to bring me home." I told him and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Why not?" Oh he most definitely did not see how bad the bruise on my face is. I can't even see it and I know it's bad. _Might as rip off the bandaid._ I reached up and turned the inner car light on before turning to face him. The moment he noticed the bruise, his face darkened and his grip on the steering wheel tightened. _Glad I didn't do this while he was driving._ He stared at the left side of my face and slowly brought up a hand to gently touch it. I flinched from the coldness of his hand, but then rested my whole cheek in it.

"God, you're better than an ice pack." I groaned out and I saw the corner of Jasper's mouth twitch.

"It's a pleasure to be of service ma'm." He said cheekily.

We stayed like that for a few minutes before Jasper cleared his throat. "I really should bring you home." I gave him my best puppy dog eyes. "But, I could see if Alice is feeling up to a sleepover." I smiled brightly at him.

Several phone calls later and I was all set to spend the night at the Cullen's house. It didn't hit me that I was going into the lion's den until we were a few minutes away from their house. Jasper must have 'sensed' my discomfort because lightly touched my shoulder and assured me it was alright. That they didn't mind having me come over and that it was the least they could do after the night I've had. He, however, did not say a thing about them being vampires. _He hasn't even told me that I'm not a late night snack._ It was a touch worrying, so I wasn't too surprised when Jasper pulled over before we got there and asked me what was wrong.

"I don't want to be dinner." I ended up blurting out and Jasper laughed at me.

"Don't worry Bambi has already been served." He teased me, at least I hoped he was teasing.

"Do you name all the pretty girls Bambi?" I shot back at him and he tensed up. "Sorry, sorry. Just really nervous." I tried to apologize, but he just stared at me.

"You do know that we don't drink human blood, right?"

I blinked at him for a few moments before repeating what he said. "You guys don't drink human blood?"

"Didn't you know that? I suspected that your sister does, so I assumed you had similar knowledge."

"Huh, nope. Not at all. I had no clue. I thought you guys were using humans as blood pouches." Well, this certainly made things easier. If they just fed off of animals, then I didn't have to worry about Bells being bled dry. _Sweet._

"So, you got into the car with someone who you thought drank human blood and possibly killed humans?" The tension in the car increased as Jasper looked at me in disbelief.

"We all have our quirks. I just thought yours were more messier than mine." I told him and he just stared at me.

"I'm going to do my best to forget about your total lack of self-preservation." He declared after a very long sigh. "We better get going before Edward sends a search party." And off we went.


	14. Chapter 14

**It's a miracle, I'm not late with updating! I even have the next chapter started :) I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter and a huge thank you to all those who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! Feel free to give me criticisms and I hope you guys have a good Memorial Day weekend :)**

The Cullen's house was remarkably open and bright for being a vampire den. I expected some sort of gothic victorian with a cemetery in the front yard, not a white modern building with more windows than a greenhouse. It was a stalker's wet dream. Just seeing the ridiculous amount of windows made me want to give them black-out curtains as a gift. Clearly, the myth about vampires being burned in the sun was wrong.

"Do you guys even own curtains because I'm not seeing any?" I asked Jasper as we walked up to the door and he chuckled.

"It's good to see that you are in better spirits than earlier." He responded smoothly.

"Of course I'm in better spirits. I now know that I'm not going to be your 'snack that smiles back'."

"The 'snack that smiles back'?" He raised an eyebrow at me as he opened the door to their lair.

"Haven't you ever seen a Goldfish commercial?" I questioned while taking a look around their house. Almost everything, from the walls to the carpet, was some shade of white. Just looking at the floor made me cringe at the thought of keeping the house clean. There was nobody around which made me feel both relieved and nervous. I honestly didn't know what would happen if I was left alone with him considering I had completely forgotten about my number 4 on my to-do list. #4: Get rid of my attraction to Jasper.

"Why would they have a commercial to promote eating goldfish? Aren't they considered pets nowadays?" But, he was so damn adorable. Maybe I should just get rid of #4? I rolled my eyes at him as he led me up a set of stairs.

"No, Goldfish, as in the snack food. They are little orange crackers that are cheddar flavored. They even have little smiles on them, hence the slogan 'the snack that smiles back'." He stared at me incredulously before opening a large oak door to the right of us.

The door opened up into some sort of study. There were at least 7 different bookshelves, all filled to the brim with books. There was along a large wooden desk in the corner where Carlisle was sitting. He had a book in his hands, but I immediately spotted the medical equipment that was laid out in front of him. I sneakily hid my hands in my hoodie pockets before smirking at the doctor.

"Hey, Carlisle, how's it going?" I greeted him casually and he smiled at me before his face fell into a serious expression.

"I'm doing quite well, thank you for asking. However, it's your state I'm more concerned with at the moment." I let out a sigh before walking towards him, still making sure to keep my hands hidden. He moved from his chair and motioned for me to sit in it. I sat in it with a loud thump before smirking at him again, ignoring the pull of the cut on my lip.

"Do your worse, Doc." I said jokingly and he smiled at me.

As he started to examine me, I shifted my gaze to Jasper who was in the corner of the room. Judging by the expression on his face, my injuries looked worse than they did in his car. His face was a mix of anger and guilt, a combination that made my chest hurt.

"Hey, Jasper." I caught his attention while Carlisle was prodding at my left cheekbone. "You know this isn't your fault, right?" Jasper glanced away from me and I sighed. "Honestly, the world doesn't revolve around you." I told him jokingly and his posture relaxed slightly, but the stupid expression was still on his face. Mission: make Jasper stop blaming himself. Mission: accepted. "Wait, oh my god Jasper, did you send those guys after us?" I asked him in fake shock. He immediately looked at me in horror, but Carlisle didn't even pause before moving to examine the cut in my lip.

"What?! Of course not!" Jasper denied and then I smirked which Carlisle lightly reprimanded me for.

"Then why the hell are you blaming yourself? You weren't there. You didn't get us lost. You didn't make those guys be assholes. They did that all on their own. Therefore, it's not your fault, so stop blaming yourself." I ranted at him and it seemed to shock him out of his little bubble of guilt. "Besides, at least one of the guys got what he deserved. It'll serve as a lesson to the other douchebags." My final statement made the corner of his mouth tilt upwards. Mission: accomplished. It was probably the best I was going to get, so I turned my attention back to Carlisle who was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"He got what he deserved?" Carlisle questioned and a smile broke out on my face just thinking about it.

"Yeah, I beat the shit out of him. He'll probably be in the hospital for months." I told him happily and he nodded.

"I'm guessing you probably punched him?" Without thinking I nodded and then realized my mistake when his eyes went where I was hiding my hands. "Then you won't mind if I examine your hands? I should treat any scapes you have on them. We wouldn't want them to get infected." Damn. It was way more than a few scapes. My knuckles were screaming and my right wrist was twinging in pain. However, judging by Carlisle's expression, there was no way I was going to get out of showing them to him. Damn, I'm going to get a lot of shit for this.

I slowly pulled my hands out of my pocket and placed them into Carlisle's. His face revealed none of his thoughts and I made a note to myself to never play poker with him. Guy has a great poker face. Luckily, Carlisle was blocking Jasper's view of them. I was sure that Jasper wouldn't be too happy that I had fucked up my hands to the extent that I did. Even if it happened while beating the shit out of my almost rapist.

After a five minutes of Carlisle examining my hands, five minutes that were spent in awkward silence, he finally sighed. "Well, judging by the amount of bruising and flexibility, you have broken several knuckles and sprained your wrist as well." He confirmed and I sighed. "Your knuckle on both your index finger and your ring finger are broken on your right hand while the knuckles on your left hand are just bruised. Your right wrist is sprained, but not severally. The left side of your face is bruised as well, but luckily your cheekbone isn't shattered. Also, the cut in your lip is just superficial and should heal in a few days. It seems like the worst of your injuries are to your knuckles." Carlisle grabbed a few bandages that were laying on his desk and reached into a drawer to pull out some finger splints. "The best I can do in terms of treatment is bandage your wrist and splint the fingers with the broken knuckles." I nodded before smirking at him.

"Let me guess, the rest is just RICE? Rest, ice, compress, and elevate?" I asked sassily and he rolled his eyes at me. "This ain't my first rodeo, Doc. But, thank you for taking a look at me."

"It's not a problem, Willow." Carlisle responded with a smile before he started to splint my fingers and wrap my wrist. The movement was painful, but not unbearable. It helped that I had done far worse to my hands before this, so this was just a walk in the park. After he finished, Jasper led me down to the living room. We were sitting on the couch and Jasper was silent which was becoming very unnerving.

"So, where's Alice? I thought I was having a sleepover with the little Pixie." I asked him.

"She'll be back soon. She said something about wanting to get something to cheer you up." Jasper replied to me in an even monotone voice. Alright, what the hell is wrong with him now?

"Jasper, what's wrong? I thought you were over the whole blaming yourself bullshit." He frowned before letting out a long sigh.

"It's not that." He didn't elaborate and I glared at him.

"Then what the hell is wrong? Because clearly something is wrong. The whole room is full with tension and I can practically feel that you're upset. You haven't spoken to me since Carlisle's office and I'm getting really sick of it. If you're pissed at me, then just say so!" My voice vibrated with frustration and I was internally cursing myself for ever coming here. Sure I got fixed up, but I was not in the right mental state to deal with a pissed Jasper. I had been attacked just an hour ago and I was still shaken up. It didn't help that all I wanted was a cigarette to calm down and that the need for one was making my hands shake even more. Jasper stayed silent for several minutes before he finally turned to me.

"How many fights have you been in?" He asked me in a low voice and I shrugged.

"A lot, why the hell does it matter?" My response made his eyes go black and I could feel his anger vibrating in the anger.

"It matters because you got hurt because of it. You could have gotten away with just a bruise tonight if you had just left that asshole alone! You have broken knuckles and a sprained wrist because of yourself! Not because of some asshole, but because of your own actions!" Jasper growled at me and I felt my anger rise.

"So what?! Was I just supposed to leave the guy there without a scratch? The dude tried to fucking rape my sister and I! I wasn't about to let him get away with that!" My voice rose several octaves as I yelled at him. "What would you have done?! Just let him walk away?!" Jasper glanced away from me and I took that as a good enough answer. "No, you would've done the same damn thing. So, get off your damn high horse." I finished in a restrained voice and Jasper seemed to switch tactics.

"That is very different, Doll. I'm a vampire. You're a human." He tried to convince me, but I was too angry for his honeyed words.

"No, it is not a different thing. It's the same damn thing, but you can't admit that. You just want to be angry that I got hurt and you are refusing to let it go! It wasn't your fault and it for damn sure wasn't my fault that I was injured!" I realized that we were both standing up and were inches apart. We must've moved during the yelling and I hadn't noticed. Jasper was glaring down at me while I was glaring up at him. We both realized how close we had gotten at the same time. One second the room was filled with anger and the next it was filled with an odd tension. I took a half step towards him and reached for his shirt. It was almost in my grasp when the front door opened.

We both jumped away from each other and turned to face the smug Pixie that was standing in the doorway. Her arms were filled with plastic bags and an angry looking Rosalie was behind her. If looks could kill, the Model would have my corpse lying at her feet. Her stare was downright murderous and it caused a shiver to go up my spine.

"Are we interrupting something?" Alice asked in a sing song voice and I rolled my eyes at her antics.

"Of course not." Jasper and I answered at the same time.

"Sureee." The Pixie said with a smirk and I thought it would be best if I changed the topic.

"So, ready for a sleepover?" I questioned and a maniacal grin grew on Alice's face. That does not seem like a good sign. Alice gestured with her bags for me to follow her upstairs and started to skip up towards the staircase. I took a moment and looked at Jasper before I followed her. He was looking away from me and I could still feel the anger radiating from him. I felt almost guilty for a second before it was taken over by anger. Who does he think he is? He doesn't get to judge me, especially not for beating up my attacker. I glared at him before making my way upstairs, hoping that whatever Alice planned wasn't too horrible.


	15. Chapter 15

**Welp, the chapter was late again. Is anyone honestly surprised? I've actually started to edit my chapters after writing them, so hopefully less errors. Feel free to call me out if something doesn't look right. Started my Senior year in high school a week ago along with my online college courses, so expect later updates. Or maybe not since I love procrastinating and writing this now counts as procrastinating on my college work. Once again, a huge thank you to all those who review, follow, and favorite. You guys are the reason I'm still writing this. If it wasn't for you, I would've took this down before it reached Chapter 10. Your love for this story has kept me continuing on despite my lack of interest. Oh, and I hit my first major benchmark as an author on this website. I GOT MY FIRST BAD REVIEW! Is it bad that it made me unreasonably happy? I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to the Twilight franchise.**

Alice was a demon. An energy sucking, fashionista demon. Our sleepover consisted of the usual slumber party business. Alice used me as a dress up doll, we painted our nails, and then watched movies. I say painting 'our' nails, but it was mostly Alice giving me a full-blown manicure. Surprisingly, it was quite fun. I wasn't usually the type to go for the stereotypical slumber party, but it helped me relax and stop stressing. However, my relaxation bubble was popped when I woke up. I was going to have to explain to my father, the Chief of Police, about how I ended up injured. _Lying seems like a good option._ My main problem was that Bella had returned the night before and I had no idea what she told Dad. Did she tell him about how we got lost and ended up being almost assaulted? Did she tell him that I stayed behind while I made her leave? _Really hoping Bella told him nothing._ I was pinning all my hope on the fact she didn't have a close relationship with our father.

I took a deep breath as stood in front of our house. Alice had dropped me off moments before. I didn't see any other Cullens this morning besides her, including Jasper. I was still pissed at him for trying to scold me, but another part of me was regretting how I handled the situation. I knew he was only worried for me, but he didn't have any right to harass me over my decision. Still, the lack of Jasper in the morning and last night had soured my mood. And now I was preparing for a possible interrogation by my loving father. There wasn't even any hope of getting Bella and I's story together since Dad's cruiser was already in the driveway. _The one time he chose to not go into work early._ I took a deep breath and twisted the door handle. _Do it fast, like ripping of a band aid._ I jerked open the door.

"Hey, I'm home." I announced as I entered the house. I heard some movement in the living room and the sound of a baseball game playing. My body moved slow and I moved cautiously towards the living room. Dad was sitting in his armchair with his eyes glued to the baseball players. _The temptation to avoid this conversation is strong. He wouldn't even remember he had a daughter until the game was over. No. Stay strong._ "Dad….how's it going?" I asked in a hesitant voice.

Time slowed and a horror movie soundtrack begins to play in my head as his head turned towards me. I was half-expecting for the head continuing to turn like The Exorcist, but it stopped and stared at me. Charlie's eyes narrowed as he took stock of my battered appearance. I had once again hid my hands behind my back, hoping that this time the strategy would work. Dad turned off the T.V., straightened his back, and then gestured to the couch. I immediately took a seat and waited silent as Charlie stood up. He walked until he was standing in front of me and then crossed his arms. The moment we made eye contact, I felt the urge to flee. _There is something very unfair that Dad is scarier than a house full of vampires. What the hell are the teaching in the Police Academy?_

"Explain." He commanded. _Was this trap?_ _Did Bells already tell him and he's trying to make me incriminate myself? Or did he have no clue and I could make up a story?_ I stayed silent for a few moments trying to think up a strategy. _Well, if he knows then I'm already screwed, but if he doesn't and I tell the truth I'm still screwed. Let's go with the path of the optimist._

"Bella and I got separated while shopping," I started while watching his reaction. Nothing changed, but this man was the Police Chief. He had no tells. "I ended up in a shady part of town and this jackass got in my way while I was walking. I ended up saying something I shouldn't have and he decked me." _Honestly, something that has happened before._ The Chief stared down at me. I saw doubt in his eyes, but I held my ground. It was close to the real story, got me into less trouble, and was very plausible. I gathered up my conviction to my lie and made it the truth in my mind. The staring contest went on for several minutes before Dad let out a grunt of acceptance. I resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief.

"Do you remember what he looked like? Any identifying marks or tattoos?" He questioned and I thought about the bloody mess I had left in the alley. _Not anymore._

"No, it happened too fast." His stance relaxed a little from his interrogator pose.

"And why didn't you tell me about this last night?" I rolled my eyes at him and smirked.

"Seriously Dad? You know how much trouble I got in living in Phoenix. I can't remember the amount of times that my mouth has managed to get me smacked." Dad gave me face that told me what he thought about that excuse. "I also wanted to relax with Alice." Dad's face softened. _Bingo._

"I'm glad you're making friends, especially with one of the Cullens. Their family gets too much flak in this town for being different. But," _Damn._ "I need you to tell me about these things when they happen. This isn't Phoenix. I don't care if this isn't abnormal for you, it's abnormal for me." He reached up and touched my bruised cheek. I winced at the pain, despite the gentleness. "You're my little girl and I don't like to see you hurt." _Dear god he is going to make me cry._ "Please be more careful and let me help you." Dad finished by pulling me into a warm hug. _Andddd there are the tears._

"Okay Dad. I'll be more careful." I told him in a soft voice and he released me with an awkward smile. Dad retreated to his chair and turned the baseball game back on. The conversation was over and I wasn't in any trouble. _This is a miracle. I'm not even in any trouble._ I got off of the couch and almost made my way out of the living room before Dad spoke up.

"Oh, I almost forgot." _God dammit. I jinxed myself._ "You're grounded for a week." I sighed and nodded. It was a fair punishment for getting myself into a fight. _I'm glad that he didn't see my hands. He would've grounded me for a month._

I went into the kitchen and grabbed an apple before heading up to Bella's room. We needed to get our stories together to make sure I didn't get caught lying. I tapped the door with the knuckles that weren't broke and waited.

"Come in." I opened the door and took stock of the room. Bella was sitting at her desk with textbooks surrounding her. Her hair was up in a messy bun and there was an ink smear on her cheek. I caught sight of the back of her chair and grinned. There was a leather jacket draped over it. I dropped down onto her bed and smirked a her. A very recognizable leather jacket.

"Is that Edward's jacket?" I asked her, even though I knew the answer. Bella's face flushed pink and she glared at me in embarrassment. Embarrassment switched to anger and concern when she caught sight of my face. _I wish the asshole could've hit me somewhere less noticeable._

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, only a couple broken knuckles and bruises." Bella knew immediately where my broken knuckles had come from. It was usually Bells who forced me to go to the doctor when it was serious. When it wasn't serious, she would patch me up herself. "I even got checked out by Dr. Cullen." She looked pleased at that fact before a look of realization came across her face.

"That's why you made me go with Edward? So you could beat up that guy?" She asked and I shrugged. Bella knew me too well to try and say it was anything else. "Can you at least try not to be so damn reckless?" She sounded tired and worried. I felt guilty for putting her through this for so many years. Bella always worries about me and I couldn't imagine the stress I was giving her.

"I can try." I told her, but we both knew it was an empty promise. We've had this conversation many times before and it always ended the same. Bella asking me to think before I acted and me promising her that I would. The promise would always end up broken. Due to my actions or someone else's. Bella let out another sigh and I decided to change the subject. "We need to get our stories straight."

"What did you tell Charlie?" I rolled my eyes at her use of Dad's name.

"I told him that we got seperated by shopping. Then I ended up smarting off to someone and they punched me." She raised an eyebrow at the story.

"And he believed that?"

"Bella, that has happened to me before. It's not like it's unlikely."

"Still, he's the Chief of Police." Bells grumbled and I smiled at her. She crossed her arms and reclined back into her chairs. A glint appeared in her eyes and she steepled her fingers under her chin. _Dear god, she's a 1920's mobster. Is she going to threaten me with a horse head?_ "So…" Her voice was cheery, "You stayed the night at the Cullens." She wiggled her eyebrows and I groaned.

"Bella. You cannot mean what I think you mean." I told her in a deadpan voice and her smile got wider.

"What could I mean, Will?" _Why is the younger sibling teasing the older one? Where has my position of Chief teaser gone?_

"You're insinuating something and you know it." And there was the appearance of the patented 'Bella is innocent' look.

"I have no clue what you're talking about sweet Willow. You are projecting. Did something happen?" I let out a groan. There was no winning this. _I've taught her too well._

"There is nothing going on between Jasper and I. We are friends. Hell, I barely know him." It was true, I didn't know Jasper that well. We had only been on friend terms for a few days. There was also nothing technically going on with us. The moment of tension between us was last night only anger, nothing sexual. Nothing sexual at all. Only anger. _Damn, I can't even convince myself._

"Surreee. Whatever you say." She said sarcastically with an eyeroll.

"I refuse to stand for these lies and slander. I'm leaving." My voice was pitched upwards in mock outrage. I got up from her bed and made my way to her door.

"Hey, Will?" Bella started hesitantly. "You know about their diet, right?" I chuckled at how nervous she was.

"Yes Bells, I know. I've known since Monday. It wasn't that hard to figure out, they're not exactly subtle." Bella froze.

"You knew...since...Monday?" I watched as she processed this and felt the temperature slowly dropping in the room. "You knew since Monday and...you didn't tell me?" She asked with fury in her voice.

"Oops?" I offered.

Bella began to rise out of her chair and I quickly stepped out of the room. I slammed the door as fast as possible and walked to the safety of my own room. _There was no running. No running from my younger sibling took place._

Once I was in my room, I let out a deep breath. My heart was still beating and my fingers intact. I had survived both interrogations with limited fallout. Now I was left with a Sunday to spend avoiding my family and thinking over my plans. There was some needed to revision to my list in light of certain events. Including how I managed to forget how scary Bella was when pissed off. She looked so sweet, quiet, and innocent. But, seventeen years with me as her sister has certainly left its mark. _I have no clue how I keep forgetting this, must be some form of Stockholm Syndrome. Or my innate recklessness trying to lead me to an early grave. Both are probably correct._

My new and improved list;

Prove the Cullens are vampires.

Find out Edward's intentions.

Find out how to dispose of Edward if his intentions are questionable _and tell Bella._

Don't get romantically involved with Jasper.

Create a survival kit for Alice's slumber parties

Get a present for Dr. Cullen

#3 was edited out of logical caution ( _fear_ ) of Bella. There was no way I was getting yelled at for 'trying to protect her'. Let her be the one to dispose of Pretty Boy. #4 was changed because of my own self-awareness. _I can deny that I like him and am attracted to him, but I can't lie to myself._ Since the previous #4 failed, the next best thing was to avoid any romantic relationship. No vampire boyfriend for me, that's all Bella's field. My focus in life needed to lie with finishing high school and taking care of my baby sis. #5 and #6 were added in light of last night's events. #5 for my own sanity and #6 so I felt better about taking advantage of free health care. _I wasn't going to refuse medical care, but I would find a way to pay him back._ I could only hope that I managed to get everything done, but that seemed like a tomorrow problem. _Time for some good R &R. _I looked down at my aching hands. _And maybe some ice_ _._

 **Did you guys like the interaction between Willow and Bella? I wanted them to have a good sisterly moment after all the drama of the last few chapters. Also, Bella is going to be more bold than in canon in this story. There is no way that Bella would be able to retain her meek attitude while growing up with Willow. Someone needs to smack some sense into Willow every now and then. That's practically a sister's job, whether older or younger. Got a question for you to. Would you guys like me to respond to your reviews in the chapter like some authors, or personally like I've been trying to do? I have no personal preference, so I figured I would let my loyal readers weigh in since you're the ones reading this.**


	16. Chapter 16

The next day at school was hell. It started off shitty with the arrival of the Pretty Boy himself, Edward Cullen. Bella had neglected to tell me that her and Edward were dating the previous night. It was huge news considering I couldn't remember the last time she had a boyfriend or if she ever did. _Which had nothing to due with the fact that I had a reputation of kicking anyone's ass if they even looked at Bella wrong._ This wouldn't have been so irritating, if Bella's new boyfriend hadn't decided to pick her up and bring her to school with him. Edward had even gotten to the house early, apparently knowing that Bells had horrible early-bird tendencies. How he knew this, I had no clue. _Is he stalking her? Is Bella dating her own stalker? Do I still beat up her stalker if she is dating him?_ Now, this was probably a really sweet act by Edward that Bella loved. However, no one informed me that she wasn't taking her car to school. No one informed me that she was leaving for school early. And no one told me to set my own alarm considering I've relied on Bella to wake me up since we started middle school. So, the day began with me being 30 minutes late for school and having to drive Bella's orange monstrosity with throbbing hands. Least to say that I wasn't exactly a happy camper when I got into my first hour with only 15 minutes left of class. The day did not get better from there. As soon as the first person caught sight of my face, rumors were abuzz.

'Who hit the new girl?', 'Do you think she has an abusive boyfriend?', 'Bet it's all makeup.', 'Did you see her hands? They look gross', 'Heard she was a delinquent back in Arizona.', and 'Wonder if the Sheriff did it.' were some of the most popular things that I heard. I tried to ignore the whispers and plotted to ruin the life of whoever started the rumor that Dad did it. _I would never forgive myself if Dad lost his job because of a bogus abuse rumor._

By the time it was lunch, I was extremely cranky. I had forgotten to take my pain medicine and my mood worsened with every snide remark that was said behind my back. I ended up secluding myself in a corner table and tried to eat my lunch in peace. This was ruined by the fact that every five minutes, I had people coming to my table to ask if Bella was dating Edward. After seeing her eating lunch with him and connecting the dots to why she wasn't there this morning, I came to the conclusion that they were. _Sure Isabella, don't tell your sister that you're dating a vampire. I'm sure she won't be upset about being out of the loop of your supernatural rom-com._ I refused to confirm it for anyone out of spite, but no one appeared to get the hint that I would be giving out zero information. These were the same people whispering about me, like hell I was going to tell them anything.

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and I escaped to the bathroom. _Which was becoming a really worrying habit._ I had a few moments of peace before I was joined by a frowning Alice. She didn't say anything, just handed me a bottle of ibuprofen and a water bottle. I quickly downed two of the pills with a sip of the cold water and handed the rest of the ibuprofen back to Alice.

"How is the pain?" She asked and I sighed.

"It's not that bad, I've gone through broken knuckles before. It's just everything else piling up on it." I told her honestly. We had fun on Saturday and she gave me pain medication, that practically made us bestfriends. "So, Bella and Edward." I changed the subject. _Nothing like talking about our siblings' relationship in the girl's bathroom._ Alice lost her frown and replaced it with a large grin.

"I told Edward that they would be good together. But did he listen, noooo." Alice rolled her eyes. "You would think after so many decades, he would stop doubting that I'm always right." I chuckled.

"So, how's this going to work with the whole vampire and human thing?" I asked in a serious tone. It would be wise for me to get as much information on this situation as I could. Plus, I was a little concerned about Bells dating a person who ate Bambi on the weekends.

"Well, Edward has good control over his thirst. As long as they go slow, they will be fine." Alice tried to reassure me, but it didn't really work.

"And if they aren't fine? I know Edward is family, but Bella is just a clumsy human. How am I gonna beat the shit out of him if he hurts her?" Alice paused before answering then raised a brow.

"Are you asking me how to hurt a vampire?" I smiled sheepishly at her. My day might be shite, but I could get the #3 on my list crossed off. _Gotta take every opportunity available to me._ Alice's bell-like laughter filled the bathroom.

"You won't be able to kill or hurt any of us while you are human." She told me with humor in her voice and I pouted. "To kill a vampire, you need to tear off their limbs and head. Then you need to burn the pieces or else we'll just reattach the pieces." _Wow. I am not going to be able to do that._

"Huh...any chance you'll punch Edward if he hurts Bells, for me?" I took a shot. It wasn't like I was able to do it.

"Sure. Though, I doubt he ever would." Alice said with a certainty that made me narrow my eyes.

"And how do you know that?" I asked her and the little Pixie just gave me a mysterious smile. "Nuh-uh, you don't get to do that. You don't get to make vague comments and not elaborate." I shook a finger at her, but she just shot me the same smile and left. She just left, leaving me alone with a ton of questions and some toilets. A huff of frustration left my lips, but the interaction had left me in a better mood.

I decided that my mood was good enough to leave the safety of the girl's bathroom without snapping at someone. Of course, the day was destined to be hellish. As soon as I left the bathroom I ran into Jessica. Literally ran into her.

"Watch it!" The Stuck-up Bitch herself shrieked at me.

"Sorry." I wasn't sorry. Not in the least bit. However, I wanted to get away from the harpy as soon as possible. Jessica must have realized who she ran into because her face fell into a haughty sneer. She adopted a classic 'I'm better than you and you should acknowledge it' stance and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"So, I heard Bella is dating Edward." I did a noncommittal shrug, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of having the latest gossip confirmed. "I also heard that you're trying to get pity by faking bruises." I took this as my cue to start walking away from the situation. "I wonder what the Sheriff would think?" She gave as a parting jab and I didn't bother to respond. I was angry, yes, but if Jessica thought the bruises were fake then she wasn't spreading the rumor that Dad put them there. She was also the biggest gossip in the school which meant that the rumor with the most clout would be that the bruises were fake. _Jessica manages to do something decent while still being her bitch self. Being thought of as an attention whore is way better than people thinking their Sheriff abuses his kid._

The rest of the school day consisted of much of the same. Rumors, whispering, and a constant flow of people asking me about Bella and Edward. Honestly, I knew the Cullens were like a 'thing' for the people of Forks, but this was getting ridiculous. Luckily, the ibuprofen from Alice had kicked in, so my hands weren't screaming anymore. Edward ended up driving Bella home, so I had to drive her car back. The drive did aggravate my hands, but it wasn't anything compared to the beginning of the day since I had forgotten to take a pain pill in my rush.

When I had gotten home, Bella and Edward were sitting in the living room. I briefly considered going and hanging out with the two lovebirds, but I was still upset at Bella for the clusterfuck that was the morning. They didn't notice when I came in or at least Bells didn't notice. I had no clue what kind of super senses a vampire had, but it was doubtful that Pretty Boy didn't hear me walk in.

My bedroom was warm and welcoming when I entered it. I felt the stress and aggravation of the day slide off of me as I curled up in my cozy bed. Then I realized that I hadn't grabbed an ice pack for my injuries. A groan of misery was my first reaction. I didn't want to go back downstairs, I was already comfortable. My wounds were at a dull throb, but it was so tempting to just ignore it. Bella and Edward were probably making kissy faces downstairs too.

"Ugh." No way. I was going to ignore this and just laze about in bed.

That resolution lasted a grand total of fifteen minutes before I headed out of my room, cursing under my breath. I tried my best to sneak down the stairs and stealthily enter the kitchen. There was no one in the kitchen, but she could still hear the happy couple talking. _Okay, they must still be in the living room._ I opened the freezer slowly, to prevent creaking, and snatched two ice packs out. It was then closed with the same care. I started the process of sneaking out of the kitchen, but it was quickly ruined by the appearance of Bella in the doorway.

"Uhhh, hey." I tried to be casual and Bells narrowed her eyes at me. Her arms crossed in front of her chest and there was a frown on her face. Edward was nowhere to be seen, so I figured he had either left or was still in the other room.

"Are you avoiding me?" She bluntly asked and I winced.

"No?" Bella rolled her eyes at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I answered and avoided her eyes. When she continued to stare at me, I figured that I wasn't getting out of this. "It's just the pain." I tried the easy way out. Bells stared at me a bit more before sighing.

"I'm sorry that everyone at school keeps bugging you about me and Edward." She apologized and I smiled slightly. _Bella knows me well_.

"It's fine. It's not your fault that the whole town has an obsession with the Cullens." Bella had a considering expression on her face.

"Huh, they really are obsessive when you think about it." She agreed with an answering smile.

"It's a vampire thing." Both Bella and I jumped in surprise at Edward's sudden appearance.

"A vampire thing?" I asked him once my heart rate went back to normal. I still wanted to go upstairs, but the opportunity to learn more about vampires was too good to pass up.

Edward started to walk back into the living room, so Bella and I followed. I took a seat in Dad's usual chair and then placed the ice packs on my hands. While Bells and Edward sat on the couch together. Both of our attentions were centered on the mythical creature sitting on our battered and stained sofa.

"Vampires have an allure to them in order to lure in victims. Our appearance, our smell, our voice. Everything is created to make us more appealing to humans. The people of Forks simply took the results of our allure and made it a reason to put us on a pedestal. Too high to touch, but close enough to observe and gossip about." Pretty Boy explained.

"That makes sense." I responded while thinking. They were an unattainable ideal, so more attention was put on them. Even more now that 'common' people like my sister and I were interacting with them. "Are any of the myths about vampires true? Like being exposed to sunlight causes you to explode into ash? Or crucifixes make you uncomfortable? Can you eat garlic bread?" I asked. I was curious as to how many of the myths were correct after researching hundreds of them.

Edward chuckled a bit, "No, most of the myths are completely fabricated. I can hold a rosary and wood can't even pierce my skin. The sunlight doesn't harm us, though it does cause an effect that we like to avoid. Italian food causes no discomfort, but it does taste like dirt." He answered and I gasped in offense.

"How dare you, Italian food is the food of gods!"

"So, I take it you didn't start off as a vampire?" Bella questioned while ignoring my cry of outrage.

"No. I was human before Carlisle turned me."

"How do you become a vampire?" Bella asked curiously. _Yeah, how do you become a bloodsucking fiend with the looks of a Greek god?_ Edward's face immediately went stony at her question.

"You don't need to know." He told Bella in an irritated tone. _He really did not like that question._ I resisted the urge to tell him off for being snippy at her and quickly changed the subject.

"So, you guys are magically pretty and have super strength and speed. Anything else?" Bella looked slightly upset, but Edward seemed relieved by the topic change.

"We have a better sense of smell and hearing. Our memories are edietic and some of us have 'gifts'."

"Gifts?" I asked. _Wonder if this has anything to with Jasper's emotional juju and Alice's weird comments._

"Occasionally, our skills and talents in our human life can manifest more strongly once we are changed. For example, I've always been very perspective of other people. After the change, it manifested into telepathy."

It took several minutes before I was able to comprehend what he just said. "You... can read minds?" I questioned in shock, hoping that he was joking. _Sure, Jasper and Alice were a bit odd at times, but mind reading?! Pretty Boy can read minds?_

"Almost all minds with the exception of Bella. It must be genetic because I have a hard time reading your mind as well. It's just static unless I focus hard enough." Bella smiled, seemingly proud that Edward couldn't read her mind. _Okay. This is sort of good. He can read minds, but not Bella's and he has difficulty with mine._

"Prove it." _Think about something not incriminating. Think about butterflies or cotton candy._ Edward closed his eyes and my muscles tensed up. _God, this is stressful. He is trying to read my mind right now. A cigarette would be great right now._

Edward's brow furrowed. "You're thinking about… cigarettes?" Bella shot me a concerned look at his response. I felt a slight blush on my cheeks. _Abort! Abort!_

"So, do any other Cullens have gifts?" I asked rapidly, hoping to get the attention off of myself and my nicotine addiction. Four months cigarette free and I still craved them.

"Alice can see the future," That explained the comments. She did have fantastic timing. _I wonder if she is willing to go gamble with me. We could make a fortune_. "and Jasper is an empath." That made me pause.

"He can feel emotions?" I questioned, hoping that Edward would elaborate. I wanted to know the extent of Jasper's emotional juju. _Could he feel that I had a 'thing' for him? How much could he feel? Did distance matter?_

"Jasper can both feel and influence emotions, but he has a limited range like I do." Edward moved on then and I tried to ignore the urge to pester him with more questions about Jasper. "Alice, Jasper, and I are the only gifted vampires in our family. Though, many of us think that Carlisle's control is supernatural. I am familiar with a few others that are gifted. There is Kate from the Denali coven who can form electric currents over her skin. Then the twins in the Volturi guard; one who can inflict pain with only a stare and the other can create full-bodied hallucinations. Those with gifts are uncommon, but not rare."

"Holy shit." Bella said with wide eyes. The idea of vampires, that there was a whole other species that preyed upon humans, was one thing. Learning that some of them had supernatural buffs on top of their vampire abilities was harrowing. _Vampires are way too overpowered. How the hell is the human race not obliterated at this point? Are we free-range cattle to them?_

"The Volturi?" It sounded Italian.

"They are the governing force of the vampire world. There are three vampires who lead it; Aro, Caius, and Marcus. They are very old and powerful. Their coven is the largest in the world with many gifted vampires in their guard. The Volturi try to keep peace between vampires and keep humans from discovering us." Pretty Boy explained in a sarcastic and bitter voice.

"Don't like them very much?" I raised a brow at him.

"They're power hungry. Any coven that grows to large will eventually find themselves being charged with a crime and the Volturi will kill them. They also seek out those who are gifted in order to add them into their own ranks. Killing or threatening them if they refuse." He said with a sardonic smile. "Alice and I have had a few run-ins with them already."

"So, let me get this straight. Vampires have enhanced senses and they can't be killed by normal humans in any way. Some vampires are also extra gifted with powers that come straight out of a comic book. On top of that, your whole society is governed by three ancient guys who like to collect gifted vampires like trophies. Is that all correct?" Edward nodded and I attempted to keep myself from tensing. "And they don't want humans knowing about vampires?" He nodded more reluctantly this time. "What will happen to us if they know that we know?" The million dollar question. Bella frowned next to Edward while he took a moment to respond. _He's figuring out what he should say._

"If they found out that you know about us, you will either be forced to turn or killed."


End file.
